


Sky Queen

by shyla915



Category: 100 - Fandom
Genre: Criminal underground of the Ark, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Out of character characters, kane is octavia's father
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23867302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyla915/pseuds/shyla915
Summary: The Ark wasn't paradise or perfect but the darkness inside was one they thought was destroyed years ago. However, that very same darkness survived and was sent down to earth. Clarke Griffin was the apprentice to a man who crippled the Ark, but now she has to decide if her vengeance is worth the price it would cost while also trying to keep alive her companions. When given a chance to become something more than just a manipulative hacker will she take it or will caring about those around her be the very thing that breaks her. She doesn't want to be the leader of her people any less than she wants an ant to bite her foot yet sometimes a horrible person can become an unstoppable leader; if of course she can let go or the past long enough to see the future she could create for her people.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Echo, Bellamy Blake/Nathan Miller, Bellamy Blake/Zoe Monroe, Clarke Griffin/John Murphy, Clarke Griffin/John Murphy/Roan, Clarke Griffin/Roan, Finn Collins/Raven Reyes, Jasper Jordan/Maya Vie, Monty Green/Harper McIntyre, Monty Green/Jasper Jordan, Octavia Blake/Lincoln, Raven Reyes/Shaw
Comments: 18
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

_**~ Chapter 1. Beginning of the End ~** _

_"There's a trace on file twenty-two," Clarke announced despite how nervous she was being here. She'd never followed him to one of the ring matches before today due to the danger posed by the other faction leaders. Leaning back against the metal table she put the tablet she'd been using to hack into the Arc's security files down. Her mentor hummed barely glancing at her as he looked down at the fistfight bellow, for some reason he'd been very focused on the matches today. Following his gaze, she watched the dark-haired boy slam his fist into his opponent's throat. When the man choked and collapsed, she felt her lips twitch upward into a smirk. The boy couldn't be more than sixteen and he'd taken down an opponent two times his size._

_"Nigel, who's that," her mentor asked glancing at the black-market mistress. The leader of the smugglers smirked with a knowing glow in her beady eyes._

_"He goes by Kuro; I doubt that's his name. Why plan to buy him from me," she asked amusement dancing in her eyes. Clarke stared downward not looking away as a pair of dark brown eyes locked onto hers as the boy stared back. Tilting her head her eye's flickered to the side for a second as the man he'd been fighting rose to his feet. Without looking Kuro slammed his heel into the man's nose shattering it and earning a scream. It might have only been an instant, but she could have sworn she'd seen something in his dark eyes._

_"Yes, how much," her mentor asked as the tablet she'd left on the table began to beep. Startling Clarke took her eyes from the fighter as the decryption she'd started finished; ignoring the two adults she browsed over the file. It seemed the council was looking into radiation levels on earth maybe they were thinking about sending someone down to see if it was survivable. Feeling a hand come down on her shoulder she put all thoughts of the Ark out of her mind and looked up. Her mentor regarded her with cold eyes for a moment before pointing down at the boy saying, "That is your new partner."_

_Nodding obediently, she handed over the tablet as one of the announcers called the boy over to tell him the situation. Tugging at the gloves on her hands she straightened as Nigel laughed the sound grating on her ears. Her eyes narrowed as all signs of nervousness vanished from Clarke's face as she tried to copy her mentor. Rolling her eyes, the dark-skinned woman smirked saying, "you're putting your little pet with Kuro? Do you want the girl to die?"_

_"Sky will be fine Nigel, the payment for the boy is done," he stated after powering down the tablet. Glancing down at his apprentice, he noticed the almost invisible flash of anxiety in her eyes. Patting her on the shoulder he nodded to the door as Kuro entered; it was his way of comforting her despite the people around them. The boy's brown eyes going to his past owner for a second before Nigel stood, the woman didn't even glance at her the boy._

_"Good, by the way Alex, the guards are looking for you," she warned before leaving the room. Clarke rolled her eyes she didn't really like the woman, nor did she understand her need to always have the last word. She was like a strutting peacock or a pretty snake always waiting to strike._

_Kuro didn't even blink as the woman left him behind, he didn't really care about her anyway. His gaze going to the girl just a few years younger than him, he looked her over slowly as the blonde did the same; both teens studying each other. The boy didn't really care who his owner was given the fact he had no delusions about being cared for having any sort of emotion for either of them would only serve to hurt him. The girl was curious about why her mentor would go out of his way to buy someone to serve as her partner, but she trusted him._

_"I assume you know who I am," Alex asked handing the tablet back to his student. Taking it slowly, watched silently as the boy nodded. Alex took it as confirmation saying, "From now on you're to protect Sky as such your partners and because of that you get to know each other true names. Introduce yourselves."_

_"I'm Clarke Griffin," she said immediately obeying the order holding out her hand to the boy she waited._

_"Miles Reaves," he said taking her hand in his. Tightening his grip for a second, he was surprised when she didn't flinch away. Instead she tilted her head again amusement in her eyes at his intimidation attempt._

_**Four years later** _

Blonde hair was curled back into a braided bun as she worked shifting through the tablet of the unconscious guard on her bed. She only had a few more minutes until he woke up and realized that he did not in fact get lucky, instead she'd knocked him out. Because sleeping with someone who couldn't even tell she was using them was never going to happen that was just asking for trouble. The idiocy of these guards was amazing, but she had no reason to tell them that. Hacking into the Ark council files was easy, way easier than it should have been, but then again, she had learned from the best. Green eyes scanned the words on the screen as a smirk formed on her lips. A groan from the guard meant her time was up and it was time to act like she cared. Closing the tablet and sliding it under the mattress of the bed attached to the wall she stood. Time to play nice and hope he was an idiot, never mind, they were all idiots including her bitch of a mother.

A relieved smile formed on her lips as she sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand. The way his blue eyes fluttered as he woke up was actually kind of cute, so was the way his nose scrunched up in confusion when he saw her. At least having cute toys meant she could look at them without getting sick or annoyed.

"Are you okay, Chris" she asked softly her eyes watering slightly as she helped him sit up. The confused man rubbed his forehead while she ran her fingers gently through his black hair; it was actually very soft. Physical contact helped relax most people, so it was the first thing she established when manipulating someone.

"What happened," he asked leaning into her gentle touch. After all, if a beautiful woman was willing to pet him who was he to refuse.

"I don't know you just collapsed," she explained smirking internally when he didn't even question her. Why were they all so ready to believe she was helpless? When he looked panicked, she continued, "maybe you should see my mother, I mean we can't have you collapsing on the job."

"Yeah," he whispered agreeing with her instantly. Smiling she leaned forward pressing her lips to his in a gentle kiss that he was all too happy to return.. When she pulled back, his slightly flustered look assured her that he didn't suspect a thing. Helping him stand she pretended to blush when he kissed her hand before leaving her cell. So easy, it was always so easy. For once she wished it wasn't so easy to play them like a pipe.

As soon as he left the blush vanished and her small smile was replaced by a frown. Walking back over to her bed she collected the tablet to resume her file searching. By morning she'd memorized every file available on each prisoner in the skybox, she'd also found the councils plan to send them down to earth. Unbraiding her hair, she walked over to the small mural she'd drawn to honor her father. He'd wanted to help people, but that was what got him killed. She knew people, she'd spent her whole life studying them, just like she did medicine and hacking. Although people only knew about one of those skills, she didn't hesitate to use them both. At fifteen she'd passed the doctors exam and became the youngest medic on the Ark, while at the same time she'd learned how to hack into any file from her mentor.

She'd been in solitary for a year and in that time, she'd made the most of it by seducing her guards into doing anything she wanted. It had been painfully easy; Kuro would have laughed at how little effort she'd put into it. She had two days till the dropship launched according to the files meaning she only had that much time to prepare. First, she would have to decide what to do about the entire situation. Hair falling to her waist like a wavy blonde curtain, she weaved her fingers together and closed her eyes wishing her father well in the next life. He deserved the best of everything, and she hoped that he'd found happiness. Spinning around she re-hid the tablet and laid down. It wouldn't do for the guards to find her awake before she was supposed to be.

What seemed like only minutes later the door opened causing her eyes to snap open. One of her pet guards stood in the doorway holding a plate. With brown hair and blue eyes, she could honestly say he was one of the cutest she'd played and the nicest. Plus, he was in love with her which she honestly cared about him for. He was a pawn, but she would think before sacrificing him.

"Good morning," she said sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Beaming at the woman he walked into the cell closing the door behind him.

"Morning, I brought your favorite," he told her handing over the plate. She took it without complaint rewarding him with a genuine smile. He watched her for a second before glancing around the room as if making sure no one else was around then he spoke, "so I brought you this."

She looked up at him as he pulled a silver chain with a green teardrop from his pocket; it was obviously a gift that he shouldn't have been able to afford. The necklace was lovely, and her mask instantly dropped as she reached forward and to touch it. Seeing her look he smiled.

"I figured you would like it, since it matches your eyes," he bragged before holding out his hand. Setting her plate aside she reached out letting him pull her up. She held her hair up as he hooked the chain around her neck the pendant falling to her collar bone; it was nice when her pets took the initiative and got her presents. Letting her hair fall she spun around and wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him for only a second then pulling back. He was officially on her do not kill list. She loved pretty things; selfish as that was, she wouldn't sacrifice a toy who supplied her with things she loved.

"I love it Nick," she told him and picked up the plate, "but as much as I would love to have you stay and talk, you have an inspection, today don't you?"

Eyes widening in remembrance, he quickly grabbed the plate and ran for the door. She watched him leave amused as her hand went to the necklace for a second. Deciding right then and there that he was her favorite toy she hesitated. When she dropped down to the ground, he would be left behind there was nothing she could do to change that fact. Even if she wanted to keep him by her side there was no logical way that it could happen. If he somehow made his way to the ground; she would offer him a place at her side.

Knowing that no one else would be stopping by for a few hours she went back to searching through files that the council never wanted anyone to find. If the Ark was going to send her down to a planet where she might die then she was going to screw them over big time. The best part though was that they would never know it was her after all who would suspect the daughter of a councilwoman.

Two days later she was ready to go wearing a pair of jeans and black lace-up boots; that had been provided her mother as a bribe. A brown hooded jacket was zipped up over a long sleeve green shirt which was over a black tank top giving her three-layer of protection. Reacting as expected she jumped when the door to her cell opened and Chris walked in a frown pulling at his lips. Stepping away from her father's mural she walked over to him a little confused when he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered into her hair letting her know it was time to leave for the ground. She let him hold her tight more amused than anything else; if anything, he was more terrified than she was about the situation. Pulling away she grabbed his hand and led him over to the bed forcing him to sit beside her.

"What's wrong," she asked forcing concern into her voice.

"You're being sent down to earth," he told her his own eyes wide with fear. Gasping, in a movement that seemed overdramatic in her opinion, she flinched back causing him to pull her into a hug again. She waited until she couldn't force her shoulders to shake anymore before leaning back.

"Does it have anything to do with that," she asked pointing to the metal wristband in his hand. He winced hating how small her voice was, nodding he decided to get it over with and grabbed her wrist. She flinched when the metal dug into her arm but made no sound.

"Come on let's get you to the dropship," he whispered tugging her off the bed. Nodding the girl allowed him to lead her through the hallways without resistance. Feeling his strong grip on her arm she regretted having to leave him behind after all he'd been one of her best toys. If only she could take him with her but that wasn't possible. As he strapped her into her seat, she couldn't stop herself from grabbing his arm when he started to leave.

"I'm scared," she said her voice shaking. She wasn't even pretending; she was terrified that she might not live to see the outcome of her revenge on her mother and the council. Her heart was pounding in fear that she didn't even have to fake. Sighing he made a choice that could get him killed. Looking around to make sure no one noticed he slipped his gun from its place on his waist.

"You will survive this," he told her as he hid the weapon between her and the seat. Squeezing her hand one last time he left the dropship without looking back. Trying to think positive she took a calming breath. Leaning back in her seat she forced a smirk now she had at least twelve bullets, but she was willing to bet she could find a bunker or two with bullets inside. When Wells Jaha was forced into the seat beside her she gaped at him. Why was he here?

"Clarke you're okay," he said relived while she nodded immediately putting the pieces together. She wanted to say she was surprised but she wasn't, sighing internally she openly stared at him, it seemed like she'd conditioned him a little too good. Blaming that on the fact she'd been young and hadn't known exactly how to condition him was her excuse. Kuro had almost gutted the boy the first time she'd introduced them though. Apparently fanatical loyalty hadn't been something he'd appreciated.

"What are you doing here," she asked sounding panicked while at the same time trying to think of a way to turn this in her advantage. If worse came to worse, he could be a hostage; it wasn't easy to ignore the twinge of shame she felt at the thought of using him. His father would burn the world to keep his son safe, then again, she did send Nigel the chancellors entire schedule for the next week so the man might be dead soon.

"I wanted to be with you," he blurted out before blushing. She held back a giggle of course he did she'd trained him to never be without her. This last year must have been hell for him. When he continued, she winced, "I know that you still think I got your father killed but I-"

"Wells I know it wasn't you," she said cutting him off when he looked at her in confusion, she gave him a small smile. He'd always been loyal to her over everyone and she appreciated that more than he would ever know. Softly she said, "it's not in your nature to betray the people you care for."

She'd known from the second the guards showed up at her door that her mother was the one who'd given them up. She hated the woman for that more than she'd ever hated anyone; it burned in her blood like a fire. Her father had been the greatest person in the world to her and she had loved him unconditionally just as he had loved her. He'd known everything about who she was and what she could do, and he'd loved her anyway. When she'd lost him, she wanted to tear the Ark apart along with everyone on the council.

The recorded message of the Chancellor only served to make her anger all the more potent. As the dropship's gravity gave out, she marveled at the weightless feeling she had before seeing Finn Collins and two other boys float past. Part of her wanted to let them die because honestly she couldn't stand idiots, but the other part that knew she would need allies in this new world caused her to call out, "you have to strap back in before we hit the atmosphere or you'll die!"

Wells immediately backed her up, but it didn't work since they slammed into the wall hard seconds after hitting the atmosphere. Closing her eyes, she grabbed Wells' hand as fear took over her body; she'd heard the sickening thud as they hit the wall over the shaking of the metal walls around them. It suddenly because all too real that she could die before they even made it to the ground. She didn't open her eyes until the shaking stopped and the dropship had landed but her hands were still shaking. Clenching and unclenching her hands she took a deep breath while Wells narrowed his eyes at her actions. Reaching out he hesitated as his hand hovered over her arm before drawing away from her.

Pushing away her moment of weakness, she straightened. Looking around she winced when she saw the odd angle of one of the idiot's necks, she'd seen death before but it still made her sick. As Wells unbuckled himself and rushed forward, she undid her straps slowly; her hands still felt shaky. Leaning forward she tucked the gun into the side of her boot and covered it with her pant leg to hide it. Standing she walked over to the boys where Finn was staring at the two dead bodies. For a single moment she wanted to snap that it was his fault, it was, but then she pushed it down.

"Are you okay," she asked softly her hand rubbing his back as she kneeled beside him. Leaning into her touch for a second, he closed his eyes morning the two who'd followed him; he never doubted her intentions. Wells sighed and gripped the other boy's shoulder in silent comfort.

"It was their choice man," he said comforting the boy while she stood and walked to the ladder as the noise level on the floor below them started to rise.

"I'll go see what's going on," she said before climbing down; she'd never been good at comforting others. She could manipulate them though and she could already tell just from one interaction that he would be easy to play. All she had to do was act weak and helpless and he would do whatever she wanted. Hopping down from the ladder she faltered at the large group gathered in front of the door. Leaning back, she didn't even bother to get involved as a man who seemed way too old to be on this ship opened the door. They needed to go outside anyway, and it was better to let them go first rather than going herself.

As the other teens rushed out into the unknown, she headed back up the ladder and to the third and top floor of the dropship. Smiling at the fact she was alone the girl pulled a notepad and pen from her pocket before taking inventory. Five first aid kits, two combat knives, which were promptly stuffed into either side of her other boot, some jackets, a few tarps, and lastly a small black box filled with condoms. She was almost amused by the fact they decided to send baby prevention instead of food, almost. Glancing at her wristband she smirked before looking over at the window only to feel exasperated. Wells was currently in a fistfight with another boy; she'd barely been away from him for ten minutes.

Hurrying down the ladder she almost flew down the ramp; Wells was her only stable pawn and she needed him. Stopping short she bit her lip when she saw him fall to the ground clutching his stomach after being kicked. When the boy raised his foot to kick Wells again, she rushed forward her shoulder hitting the boy's chest and causing him to stumble. The only thing was she went down too when the boy reacted by grabbing her arm.

"Clarke," Wells shouted pushing himself up as she went down; if she got hurt because of him he would never forgive himself. Stumbling he winced at the pain that flew through his ankle.

Murphy stared at the girl half laying on him in surprise, this was not an outcome he pictured when he went after chancellor junior. Sitting up the blonde rubbed her head wondering what the boy's chest was made of. Blinking she met the startled eyes of the boy bellow her; they were a nice shade of brown that reminded her of chocolate. The grip on her arm wasn't gentle but it wasn't bruising either. There was a harsh strength in his fingers that reminded her of Kuro. Feeling the grip on her arm tighten she relaxed trying to make herself seem less like a threat as he studied her. Hearing a hiss from behind her she felt the grip on her arm vanish as Wells reached down to grab her.

Wells pulled her up and away from the other boy a little annoyed that he'd been so close to her. Looking down at her he said, "you didn't need to do that."  
"Sorry," she whispered hating how weak she'd just made herself sound. Shrugging off his grip she narrowed her eyes at him silently telling him to back away. When he obeyed and stepped away, she said, "I didn't want you to get hurt."

She was aware of the audience watching them as he blushed heavily, while she set herself up as the caring blonde friend. Looking down at the boy who was sitting up kept the curiosity from her gaze and offered him her hand saying, "sorry about that I hope you aren't hurt."

Scoffing Murphy slapped away her hand, he'd seen that flicker in her eyes when they studied each other. He couldn't help but think she felt familiar, but he had something more important to do than figure out who she was. Standing he sneered at her before speaking, "at least the prince will always have his princess to protect him."

Internally she was actually amused but, on the outside, she adopted a hurt expression leaning back while Wells predictively lunged for the other boy. His protective action would have caused more harm than good, so stopping him was the only option. Grabbing his arm, she stopped him from attacking while Finn jumped down in front of them.

"I think that's enough," he said coldly; he really hated bullies.

Watching silently as Octavia came forward to flirt with Finn and as Murphy walked away, she studied the older man who'd snuck onto the ship. He must have been Octavia's brother and since he was older most of the teens would see him as a leader. Meaning she would either have to challenge him or get on his good side. Both options were worth considering if she stayed. She could leave and just vanish, but her mother would have to think she was dead. Would she even be able to survive on her own?

"Hey, what about Mt. Weather," Wells asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Stilling almost completely she felt a rush of anger at the thought of doing something the council ordered. Looking into his honest eyes she knew that he wasn't trying to anger her; he was honestly asking if they were going to go to Mt. Weather.

"No."

"Clarke," he said using the tone that meant he wanted to argue. She could see fear in his eyes as he spoke and knew that he was afraid they were going to die without those supplies. Yet there was something more in his gaze that affected her far more than his fear of death; he wanted to believe that his dad sent him down here with a plan.

Glancing around she knew that having this conversation out in the open wasn't a good idea. It would expose too much to the circling sharks around them; she didn't want that. Reaching out she grabbed his arm and pulled him up the ramp with her and to a secluded corner of the dropship far from the open door. He let her, even as his eyes studied the cold gleam in her own. It had taken half the year she'd been locked up for him to see she'd been using him, yet it had taken less than a month for him to realize he didn't care. They'd been together since they were children, she was practically his sister. There was no way he would allow her to come to earth alone. Still they needed the supplies from Mt. Weather, or they could die.

"No, Wells, I'm not going to drag teenagers through a forest that could kill us just for the vague hope we'll find something," she said once she'd released his arm. Taking a step away from him she allowed her distress to show as she tugged on a loose strand of her hair.

"I-"

"Think about it, do you really trust the council to give us any useful information when they killed my father. A man who was like an uncle to you," she snapped before he could even begin to argue. Trembling in rage that had finally boiled over, she felt the dull ache in her chest that accompanied mentioning her father.

Putting distance between them she began to pace as he watched her closely. Once this kind of reaction would have made him feel guilty, but this was real. For the first time since she'd seen him on the dropship, she was showing real emotion. She also had a point; the council was notorious for lying. Even being privileged couldn't keep the council from making everything miserable. It was possible that the council, his father, was lying about this too just so they did what the Ark wanted. Still, his father loved him, but did he love him enough to pick him over the Ark?

"No," he admitted more to himself than her, but she stopped moving all the same. It was only an instant, but he was able to notice the way her hands shook before she stuffed them into her pockets.

She hated the moments when she wasn't able to control her emotions, especially when around her pets. Wells wasn't to blame for any of this and she couldn't take out her anger on him; it wasn't right. It wasn't his fault, that her father was gone. He was hers, she wouldn't hurt him by snapping at him like this. Her temper, her anger, wasn't worth losing him.

"Sorry for snapping at you," she said softly. The apology hung between them like an olive branch.

Waving off her apology, he'd already forgiven her, he felt that she wasn't looking at the bigger picture. Anger could cloud anyone's judgment, even hers. Laying his hands on her shoulders he felt the still barely controlled hate bubbling under her skin. If she'd acted like this a year ago, he knew that he never would have noticed, but now he saw everything. His eyes were no longer clouded by the love he felt for her because that love wasn't the same as it once was. At this moment, emotion couldn't cloud their judgment, it was more than just them in the equation. The delinquents outside didn't deserve to die because no one tried to keep them alive.

"I know you hate the council…my father," he said but hated the way her green eyes flashed with pain and hate in equal measure. The council wasn't perfect, the Ark wasn't perfect either, but he didn't know if they could survive on their own. He kept eye contact as he said, "but we might not be able to make it on our own down here."

Letting his words sink in, she was silent. What he said reminded her of something she'd read years ago. The Ark had been checking radiation levels for years, they had to know if it was safe to send them down, but did safety really matter. They were considered criminals and the Ark was running out of air. While sending them down might have been mercy it also could have been nothing but a ploy for more time. Did the Ark really care about the people they sent to die on the ground?

"I think that might have been the point of sending us down here in the first place," she said coldly. Knocking his hands away she thought about the limited supplies, the lack of food. If the Ark wanted them to survive, they would have tried harder. The idea wasn't even that far-fetched for people who oppressed the very people they should protect.

"That…why…"

"The Ark has been researching the radiation levels of earth for years. The council needed to buy more time until it reached acceptable levels, what better way to do so than cull a bit of the population," she explained. It hurt to think about, yet saying it felt worse. The hope in his eyes burned her more than anything else; she knew that hope was for the chance she might be wrong. He wanted her to be wrong; his father wouldn't just send him to die, would he?

"Our parents w-"

"Pick the Ark over their children, they've done it before. The rest of the council is just as bad too; they don't care about a bunch of delinquent prisoners," she said. The cold tone had changed to one of reluctant pain. Every bitter thought she'd had over the last few years came to the surface as he stared at her. He wanted to believe in their parents because a parent should love their child more than anything in the world. Their parents only cared about the Ark, they were so consumed with protecting the Ark, they couldn't see anything else. Feeling her fingers twitch she said, "If they get to live a little longer than everyone else then no sacrifice is too much."

"I-"

"Abby never took the time to even look at me once I passed my certification test. She didn't hesitate to sentence me to the Skybox and neither did your father when it came to you. They don't care," she snarled. Throwing out her hands she paced away from him the bitterness keeping her from noticing the pain in his eyes. She hated the Ark. She hated her mother. She hated that nothing she ever did was good enough for the woman who gave birth to her. The council had taken her mentor, her father, and her partner. The urge to scream her hate to the heavens was almost unbearable but she couldn't when she saw the same pain she felt reflected in his eyes. Stepping toward him she reached out slowly, giving him ample time to pull away from her, before cupping his face so that their eyes met. She'd accepted that their parents didn't care but he'd always wanted to believe his father did. Looking deep into his eyes she whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "Well's look at me, I know you love your father, but you deserve better than someone who'll throw you away without hesitation."

This was why he found it easy to sell his soul to her. Her green eyes pulled him in while trying to convince him that she was honest. He loved her, she was his sister in all but blood, but he knew she was a liar. Every word out of her mouth could be a lie, but it was so hard not to trust her. A year ago he would have trusted her without hesitation but he knew better. She manipulated everyone around her and while he was more than willing to dance to her tune; he needed to know she wouldn't just toss him aside like their parents. He didn't know if he could survive being thrown aside by someone he loved again. Reaching up he grabbed her wrist gently.

"And you won't," he asked. When her eyes widened in shock, hurt, and confusion, he almost backed down. Running his thumb gently over her skin he saw uncertainty flicker in her eyes but it didn't stop him from saying, "Clarke we were raised together, I know you better than anyone and that act you put on out there was nothing short of amazing. But it wasn't you…you're ruthless. Even when we were kids you never hesitated to hurt people for what you wanted."

The truth hung between giving him time to notice the way she tried to rebuild her guard. Her green eyes becoming cold as she dropped her other hand down to her side. She didn't know how to feel about the question; this was different than how he usually questioned her. He wasn't blindly following her words anymore; had things truly changed so much that she'd lost her grip on him.

"Wells-"

"Can you promise me that you won't throw me away like our parents? Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you care about me as something other than your pet? I had a year to review our relationship and I love you but I'm not in love with you," he told her knowing that it would confirm her suspicions.

He knew. The only thing she could focus on was that he knew she'd been using him; did he hate her? No, he hadn't been lying when he said he loved her. Wells had never lied to her the way she did to him. His questions made her feel guilty, but it was the fact he doubted that she cared that made her feel uneasy. She cared about him, about all her pets, but if they got too close it would hurt. If she let herself care about them as anything else, then lost them it would kill her almost as much as losing her father. She didn't want to admit she was afraid of connecting with people, with him.

"I care."

She said the words so softly that he almost didn't hear her and from the shock in her eyes, she hadn't meant to say them at all. Turning her head away from him she didn't resist as he pulled her into a hug. Even standing here telling that little bit of truth made her feel as if the floor was going to fall out from under her feet. She didn't want to admit that he was important to her, but she had because losing him by lying would be worse.

"We can't be like our parents, neither of us," he said softly. The bitter chuckle from the girl in his arms was all the agreement that he needed. He didn't know her secrets, he didn't need too, Clarke was the only true thing he had left. Knowing what made her the way she was wouldn't help either of them live without the threat of their parent's actions. Pulling away from her he met her eyes ignoring the tears he saw there as he said, "we have to decide on a line that we won't cross. I know that I'll never let you down or betray you. I'll never throw you away. Can you promise me the same thing?"

Could there be a line she wouldn't cross to get what she wanted? Her mentor had trained her to kill, her father had taught her to protect, neither lesson was more important than the other. Feeling the necklace around her neck settle with new weight she pushed back the idea of him being the same as her guards. Wells meant more to her than anyone else on the ground and the Ark. Yet he also had a family on the Ark, a father that ordered the death of her own without hesitation.

"Wells, when I got locked up, I decided that I would do anything to destroy the council. I will make them suffer; can you live with that," she asked. If he wanted to see the truth, then she would show him exactly what he wanted from her. He could say no, and she would accept that choice, but she wanted him to say yes. She wanted him to stay with her of his own free will rather than her manipulations.

"Yes," he stated. He loved his father, but he loved her more. It was only fair that he got to choose someone over the man when he did the same when it came to the Ark.

"Then I will not throw you away. I'm a selfish bitch and your mine," she said almost growling out the words. The firm tone caused his eyes to widen before he nodded.

Moving away from him, she wiped what little tears had managed to fall from her face. She would try to care about him as more than a pet, to open her heart. It might mean even more pain in the future, but she wanted to try. Offering a small smile at the worried look he gave her she started toward the door. They'd been alone for far too long; the rumors would already be circling. Stepping out onto the ramp she felt eyes on her but ignored it, in favor of putting on a mask for the others.

"I'm going to find water," Wells stated glancing down at her, he needed time to process their conversation and she did too. Smiling at him she waved him away.

"I think I'll stay near the ship for a while," she told him. She needed to scope out Octavia's brother before she did anything else. Nodding he didn't think anything of it and started on his trip into the forest. She watched him leave before glancing at Finn who was still flirting with Octavia while her brother glared. Noting that he was protective of his sister she studied the dark-haired man. From the information she'd gotten from Octavia's prison file, she knew that he used to be a guard; if she brought him to her side, he could be useful. Walking over to the older man she smiled and held out her hand, "hi, I'm Clarke."

"Bellamy," he said without much interest. He really wanted to skin that boy alive right now. Crossing her arms when it was obvious, he wasn't going to shake her hand she decided the blunt approach would be best.

"So are you going to be in charge," she asked catching him off guard.

"Why looking to take the job princess," he asked finally paying attention to the girl.

"Nope, I was just going to let you know I have medical skills that might be useful," she told him smiling innocently to put him at ease. She'd noticed him tense minutely and his defensive tone when she voiced her question.

"Thanks for volunteering," he told her giving her a charming grin. She reacted like most girls would have and blushed before stammering out a reply. Moving away from him she sighed in relief; she could already tell dealing with him would be exhausting. He was cute she would give him that, but he seemed to be fixated on his sister.

Stalking into the forest surrounding the drop ship she started to explore. It was strange to finally be on earth, especially given that it wasn't supposed to happen for another four generations. Her father would have loved to see everything around her; just thinking about how much he would enjoy being here hurt. Her father would never see earth, and neither would her mentor, both men were dead due to the council.

Glancing around once she got deep enough into the tree line she sat down slowly. She might toy with people's emotions and treat them like pets but even she knew that right now she was out of her depth. The only true ally she had was Wells, even if according to their files some of the other delinquents were from the raid four years ago. They were like her but none of them would step forward and just announce it; that went against everything they'd been taught. Every one of them was just like her looking out for themselves. Still, she was afraid.

Bellamy wouldn't be a good leader; the only thing he cared about was his sister. There was already tension in the camp due to Wells being there and the lingering anxiety from having nothing to survive with. Everyone was terrified, even those like her, and Bellamy did nothing to stop the chaos. If he stayed in charge someone could get killed, but she didn't want to lead either. There was no way she could oversee all these teens despite her mentor training her to take his place. Maybe it would be better just to leave.

Murphy followed the girl while being silently surprised by how quiet she was. She walked like an assassin and for a moment he entertained the thought of her being one. After all the fighters weren't the only faction geared toward combat. The only issue was that no assassin would stick their neck out for someone else unless they truly felt loyalty. He doubted that Clarke felt that way about Chancellor Jr. it was more likely that she was one of the smugglers or hackers. If she'd been a fighter like him then he would have recognized her immediately, yet instead, her appearance lingered in the back of his mind. He was missing something, and he wanted to know what it was.

Once she was away from camp she stopped sitting with her back against a tree. He quickly noted the weakness in her stance as she hugged her knees to her chest. It was obvious she was afraid; they all were. Hell, some of the delinquents were younger than fifteen and were looking for guidance but they wouldn't find any. The only person they had over eighteen cared more about his sister than anything else. Deciding to confront her he purposely stepped on a branch to gain her attention. It would give her time to compose herself from the moment of weakness he wasn't supposed to see and give him time to think about what he wanted to say. What he didn't expect was that the branch along with the leaves around it was concealing a hold.

Hearing a branch break her hand went for her gun before freezing and pulling the knife from her boot if it was just one of the others, she didn't want them to know about her gun. She pushed herself up into a kneeling position as Murphy stumbled into view cursing while trying to escape the hole. Blinking she almost dropped the knife as he finally fell to the ground. Laying there he questioned just why anyone would want to live in a forest; it was a health hazard.

"Stupid fucking holes," he grumbled pushing himself up as she dissolved into laughter replacing the knife in her boot. Her laughter sounded like music filling the air around them as her face finally showed true emotion. He watched her laugh a light blush appearing on his face before he came to his senses and said, "shut up."

"Sorry," she said more amused than anything else. This had to be the first time she'd laughed freely in two years. A part of her realized how sad that actually was but until now she hadn't had any reason to actually smile let alone laugh. Standing she walked over to him to help him stand before noticing his bare wrist and dropping to her knees. Reaching out she hesitated before gently grabbing his arm asking, "how did you get it off?"

"I'll tell you in exchange for one of those knives," he offered making her happy she didn't pull out her gun; it was likely he would have asked for that. Biting her lip, she considered his offer; neither of them noticed she was still holding his arm. On one hand she would be able to cut ties with the Ark and hurt her mother, on the other she would be down one weapon. Meeting his eyes, she sighed in defeat. While she usually would have tried to play him until he did as she wanted there was no point. She could already tell he wouldn't be easy to manipulate so what was the point in trying.

"Fine," she said releasing him before reaching down to get the weapon. Tugging the knife out of her boot she passed it over, watching him pluck the weapon from her hand. He flipped the weapon like he knew what he was doing; it was a sign her theory was right. Was it true that he was like her? If so, did that make him an ally or a threat? Finally realizing that her other hand was wrapped around his arm, she released him while starting to move away from him.

Feeling his hand grip her arm just above the wrist band before she could react, she froze. Sliding the knife under the wristband before she could realize what was happening, he pried it off. Flinching she watched shocked as the metal band fell to the ground. The dull thud that sounded was the only thing she heard yet the grip on her wrist burned like fire.


	2. Chapter 2

_Landing easily Kuro waited for the girl to join him; it had been a week since he'd became her partner/bodyguard. Clarke faltered her eyes locking on the solid form of the metal floor below as her nails dug into the climbing wall; she hated heights or rather the sensation of falling. Every time she got to this part of the obstacle course she just froze. Meeting her partner's emotionless eyes, she tried to force herself to move but her arms felt like they were made of stone. Carefully moving she turned to grab onto the handhold beside her; it wasn't that far, and she thought she could reach it. With a squeak, her shoe slipped causing her to freeze as for a moment she felt weightless. Slamming her eyes closed the girl braced for pain as she toppled off the side of the wall, but it never came. She felt arms wrap around her breaking her fall yet the impact causing her to cry out._

_Holding the girl tightly Kuro waited for her to realize she wasn't going to hit the ground. Opening her eyes slowly she looked up into his with slight shock; even if he'd been bought to be her partner, she hadn't thought he would catch her. The feeling of shame ramming into her all at once at her own weakness. She'd been saved again. Why wasn't she strong enough to do it on her own? She hated how weak she was in this moment; how weak she was all the time. Pushing herself out of his arms she glared at the floor and he let her, despite how much stronger he was._

_"Sorry," she said turning to face him. The annoyance on her face clear for both of them to see but he didn't tease her about dropping her mask; the only people who got to see under her mask were her mentor and partner. The fourteen-year-old froze as he patted her head it was the first time he'd touched her outside of sparing or necessity._

_"You'll get it one day," he said bluntly although she could see the amusement in his eyes. Turning away from her he made his way over to the sparring ring; he'd been teaching her to fight for the last few weeks. Following she took the spot across from him trying not to show how hesitant she really was._

_Dodging his initial punch, she moved away from him trying to put distance between them. In a contest of strength, she wouldn't be able to win but with her small frame, she might be able to keep away from him and wait for him to tire himself out. Slipping out of his range she did everything she could not to be caught as he lashed out at her; however, none of his hits were strong enough to do more than slightly bruise her. She wasn't good at hand to hand; knives were where her skilled laid. Dodging was about all she could do when they sparred; something her mentor thought would help her later in life. So, all she could do was dodge and wait for an opening; usually, he didn't give many openings._

_Her back hit the wall causing her to stiffen as a faint almost invisible smirk crossed his face at her predicament. Seeing the fist come for her face she ducked trying to rush past him as he hit the wall and reacted to her attempt to escape by sticking out his foot and tripping her sending the girl falling to the floor. Yelping she tensed her whole body going still as his hand gripped the back of her neck firmly yet without the force needed to hurt her; if this had been a real fight, she would have been dead. Heart pounding, she stayed absolutely still and waited for her partner to let her go._

_"Sky, I need the codes from file seven," her mentor called from across the room. He never took his eyes from the monitor in front of him as he ended the sparring match. Releasing the girl Kuro waited for her to roll over before offering his hand; taking it she blinked as he lifted her up easily._

_"You'll get it one day," he said repeating his words from earlier. Frowning she stared at him catching the amusement in his eyes; he was mocking her. Huffing she stomped past him ignoring the smirk that crossed his face as he followed. He would make sure that she learned everything he could teach her._

_**Four years later** _

"The Ark is dying."

The words rang through the intercom system as the little gift Clarke had left behind went into effect. Jake Griffin's message to the citizens played for everyone to hear despite the council's best efforts to silence it. The council itself was now in disarray alternating between trying to figure out how to shut it down or save themselves from the angered mob now out for their blood. They could find nothing; not even a trace of where the signal was coming from. For five hours the message had been repeating and panic had taken over almost every person on the Ark. Even those in charge which was evident given that one council member had elected to hide in the guard station like a frightened lamb.

It wasn't just Jake's message that echoed in the hallways either, every dirty little secret the council had was out in the open. No one knew the extent of the damage yet in a way they didn't want to know. Their best programmers were trying to solve the code and stop the message and file leakage, but it was the equivalent of putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. All across the Ark chaos reigned and only the medical, control station, and guard wing was safe from the rioting. The halls to the control station were shut down quickly when the message started but now almost the entire of Alpha station was put on lockdown with the citizens being held back by the guard.

In the medical wing, things were a different kind of chaos as a middle age woman with darkened hair tried to keep order despite the panic in her own mind. Abby Griffin pressed her blood-soaked hands against Jaha's chest as she tried to restart his heart; they needed him, she needed him. Her ears rang as she shut out everything else; Especially the fact her daughter was dead. Her best friend was going to die, and she couldn't do anything. Just like she couldn't do anything to save her daughter; even now she could remember the moment Clarke said she never wanted to see her again. Was she destined to lose everything? Wincing at the thought she felt her muscles relax as his heart began to beat again. Calling out to her assistants she gave orders to stop the bleeding while she stumbled back in relief. From the door, Markus Kane watched her work.

Once he would have lashed out when she used too much medicine to save him, but that time was past. They needed Jaha if they were going to survive this. The message was ringing in his ears reminding him of having to float his friend. He didn't quite know what to do anymore there was too much chaos for all of this to make sense. Watching Sinclair come to stand beside him he took the tablet from the man's hands.

"You remember The Black King," the man asked. Handing the tablet to his friend he was startled at the glare on the man's face. Usually, Markus was so good at controlling his emotions but now those burning eyes held nothing but hate for a man long since dead.

"Just use his name," Markus corrected glancing down at the tablet he froze.

"It's his code," Sinclair said as Abby came to stand beside him. The exhausted woman flinched at the words but stayed silent when she noticed her fellow council member's angered snarl.

"Are you telling me to chase a ghost," Markus asked shoving the tablet back into the man's hands. The Black King was dead; there was no way that anything of the man could have survived. No matter what the criminals and underground of the Ark believed the greatest threat to the Ark was dead. Crossing his arms, he said, "Alex Black is dead. I sent him into space myself."

(Clarke)

Watching the other delinquents build the wall she considered her options. At the moment they were short on medicine, supplies, and most of all weapons; despite Murphy deciding to use a large piece of dropship metal to make knives. Honestly, she thought that he was going a little overboard on the knives, but she could understand why he wanted so many available. What she did know however was that they would need more than a few knives to survive. It was why she'd quietly suggested to Murphy to make spears too; he'd rolled his eyes but less than an hour later he was following her suggestion. Still, she didn't know if they would survive without the knowledge to use those weapons.

She had enough weapons to at least put up a fight and there was no telling how many knives Murphy and the others like them had stashed away. Bellamy had finally gotten some common sense and started building a wall after seeing a shadow in the woods. Did she blame him? Nope, seeing as how she'd noticed the small indentions in the upper branches of the trees around camp; only humans could make such markings. As such the current order was that no one was to leave the camp alone. If people had survived down here than they were most likely being watched.

Wells was currently leading a small hunting party, so he wasn't here to keep her company. He'd been much more confident leaving her side after their talk in the dropship, but she knew he was still processing his realizations. They hadn't told anyone about the conclusion they'd come too or the fact the Ark might want them dead, not because they thought everyone would deny it but because he'd asked her to stay silent. He still held an attachment to the Ark much to her annoyance.

She'd noticed some of the others were growing steadily uncomfortable with Bellamy's leadership, or his habit of bedding every girl in camp. It was especially annoying because he didn't understand the meaning of being discreet. The entire camp was able to hear him during his interactions with the other girls. He gained worse looks from raised like her who knew how important it was for a leader to show a mask of strength. She hadn't approached those she noticed just like they hadn't approached her; that may have been due to only Monty knowing who she. The poor boy had almost short-circuited when he realized just who he was talking to. His stuttering had been cute.

Glancing toward Bellamy, who was scheduled to lead a hunting party once Wells returned, she wasn't surprised to see Monroe seated on his lap. Looking past him, she noticed Fox watching the two from her spot on the tent-making team that had turned into the bag-making team. Meeting her eyes, the long-haired girl gave a faintly amused smirk before turning back to her job. She was pretty sure Fox wasn't the girl's real name but honestly it fits the playful attitude she had.

Fingering the pendant around her neck she watched Murphy stalk toward her. As the only one who didn't fall for her act, he was a threat. Given the fact he watched her just as closely as she did him it was no surprise that they were on edge around each other. Neither were willing to make the first move either, so they were dancing around each other waiting for an opening. It didn't help that she couldn't get the thought of his touch out of her mind; her skin still burned.

Murphy didn't buy the docile princess act she put on although he could admit she wore it well. No one who pulled a knife that quickly could be harmless however and he'd seen enough fighters to recognize one. It was also her eyes that he didn't trust; they were too guarded to support her act. Helpless only masked so much and it couldn't mask all of her. It was in the way she held herself when she walked, the casual grace of a predator, like a cat stalking a mouse. The amused smile when someone acted in a way, she wanted them too. It reminded him of the ring master who conducted the illegal fighting on the Ark; the only honest thing about her was her medical skills. Smirking at her he stopped a few feet away and held out his wounded hand. The large cut going up his arm was enough to make her raise an eyebrow.

Feeling eyes on her she lunged forward fake worry hidden all over her face even as she wanted nothing more than to put distance between them. Rolling his eyes at the act he held still as she examined his arm mainly because it did hurt. Leading him into the bottom level of the dropship she moved toward the first aid kits. Sitting down on her makeshift bed, that she'd created in the corner, he made himself comfortable. The way her shoulders tensed before relaxing was telling.

Watching her carefully as she began examining his arm, he took a second to study her. He still couldn't remember where he'd seen her before. The coldness in her eyes and emotionless smile was familiar, so much so that it was on the edge of his memory. Tugging at the thought, he frowned when it moved out of reach. He hated not knowing who she truly was. It was more annoying than anything else he'd ever felt, and he despised the feeling. He'd already talked with some of the others like them, but most had only shrugged. The only one to have a different reaction had been Monty but that was only to stutter something before fleeing then avoiding him. He knew that the other boy had some sort of idea who she was but pinning him in place long enough to get that information was a challenge he'd yet to win.

Clarke wrapped the bandages around his arm her eyes never straying from her job as she felt him stare at her. Finishing she leaned back her hands dropping to her lab once she was sure he wouldn't bleed on her bed. Meeting his gaze, she stiffened at the feeling of dread and anxiety his eyes caused. Cold intelligence flashed as he looked at her like a puzzle he was trying to solve; she didn't know what she would do if he actually managed to solve it. He was a threat to her secret, he was dangerous, but he was also just like her.

"So, Princess how long are you going to sit on the ground," he asked.

Seeing her eyes narrow before she looked away from him and pushed herself up, he counted it as a win. Deciding to ignore him she checked the stock of dried algae Wells had brought her. Frowning at the shortage of dried seaweed she knew that a trip to get more had to come soon. She might not like the way Bellamy was running the camp, but she did take her job as a medic very seriously. Placing the first aid kits back down beside her bag she was tempted to throw him out, even more, when he scoffed.

Her fingers twitched when she heard him shift on her bed. Something about him made her want to lose control; to lash out. It was like her instincts were telling her to kill him or at least do something about his presence. She doubted it was just because he wasn't fooled by her act. Her mentor had always drilled caution into her head, but she'd never actually thought someone would see through her. Having him alive was dangerous to both her and the position she'd worked to build in the last two days. He was a threat; it was easy to push away the part of her that reminded her he'd made her laugh.

Turning to face him, she stiffened when she saw him laying on her bed as if he owned it. The fabric of his shirt had drifted up to expose the smooth muscle underneath; for a moment, she could only stare at him. The slightly tanned skin seemed to tease her, even more, when she finally met his gaze to find amusement in his eyes. Yeah, she was definitely going to kill him. She wasn't a fool; it was easy to recognize the signs of seduction. How dare he try to manipulate her!

"Would you mind joining me to collect more seaweed," she asked innocently. Keeping the malice off her face she waited for his answer.

Murphy stilled; he'd noticed the short flash of anger in her gaze. Watching her closely he waited, he'd noticed that the longer someone waited before answering the tenser she became. Standing he internally sneered at the way she immediately moved a step back to put distance between them. There wasn't even a single desire in him to harm her; she was much too interesting to hurt. He wanted to know what she was.

"Fine," he said. Pushing past her he wasn't surprised when she meekly followed her mask slipping back into place the second, they stepped out of the dropship. Stalking over to Bellamy he said, "Princess needs more seaweed, I'm taking her to get some."

The man barely responded. Waving the two away he wasted no time pulling another woman into his arms. A brief feeling of disgust flashed through Clarke's body at the display, but she made no outward expression. It might be hypocritical, but she hated the way he slept with women and threw them away. Turning away from him, she followed Murphy out of the gate and into the woods at least he wouldn't try to sleep with her. Letting him lead the way she took a moment to study him.

He was physically stronger than her, that didn't matter though. Anyone could be killed even a giant; it was all about the element of surprise. Tensing she wondered if this was right, he hadn't actually done anything to her. Was the possibility that he would enough reason for him to die? No one would miss him he'd already made an enemy of most of the camp. Sure, Bellamy might wonder where he went but the man would be easy enough to play. A pretty face was all it would take to keep him from questioning where his second in command was. Wells would probably be relieved that the bully was gone.

Her hands shook slightly. He was suspicious of her, so he had to die; plus, he'd tried to manipulate her. Anyone who couldn't be manipulated was a threat, it was one of the first lessons she'd learned, so why was she hesitating. All it would take was one bullet and she wouldn't have to worry about him ever again. Clenching her fists, she frowned. Was she really a killer? Did she have it in her to kill him when he hadn't made a move against her?

Stopping at the bank of the river she stared down at the water. The eyes staring up at her were cold just like her mentors. She knew this had to be done but she didn't know if she had it in her to do it or was it that she didn't want to do it. The thought caused her to freeze in place. Was that the case? Looking at him she found herself staring into his eyes. Did she honestly want to kill him?

"Well, are you going to make your move or not," he asked crossing his arms. He could tell she was having an internal conflict but all that mattered was what she chose to do now. Smirking at her he said, "do what you want to Princess."

He was confident that unless she had a gun, there was no way she could beat him. The arrogance might have been unwarranted but there hadn't be anyone to beat him in his matches except the Black Kings pet Kuro. A conflicted little girl wouldn't be able to win against him, but he wouldn't hurt her either. Clarke might not be on his side right now but he knew she was someone important; he wasn't about to end up hurting her in whatever this little confrontation was.

Want. What did she want? She'd been put in a cell for a year. Both her father figures were dead and her brother in all but blood had died for her too. She wanted the Ark to burn for what the council did; for what her mother did. All her toys were out of reach and she'd never been so alone, even Wells for all his willingness to follow her orders was starting to annoy her. It felt nice when everything went her way. She loved being in charge and playing with those around her it was who she'd been trained to be. There were many things she wanted at the moment, but she didn't want to kill him.

"Why," she asked softly. He could see the conflict in her eyes as the walls surrounding her crashed to the ground. Frowning he watched the way she couldn't look at him choosing to look at the ground instead it was easier than meeting his gaze. Unclenching her hands, she said, "I brought you out here to kill you."

"I know," he stated. When her eyes snapped to him they weren't guarded. He saw her fear, anger, and most of all her panic; that was all it took for him to remember everything. Green eyes and bloody hands that struggled to reach those left behind. The sound of a gun falling to the floor as someone screamed on the day of the raid. Black hair coated in blood as a girl was shoved into the hallway as others stayed behind to cover their retreat. Eyes widening, he stepped forward before without warning his hands closed around her upper arms.

"Mur-"

"Sky," he said his voice barely above a growl. The sound was almost feral as he used the name she'd been given by her mentor. Stilling, she stared at him, the name resonating as her eyes grew cold. Without warning, she reacted just as she'd been trained. Slapping his hands away from her, she grabbed his wrist in a grip like iron. Twisting she kicked out his feet sending him crashing down to the ground or at least that was what should have happened. Moving his feet before she could trip him, he pulled his wrist from her grip. If he'd known she would react like this, he would have pinned her before saying her name; at least now he knew he was right.

Shoving her away he narrowed his eyes; she might have been a hacker, but he'd been a fighter; she couldn't beat him. Catching the palm strike she sent at his face he flipped her over his shoulder hoping to knock the air from her lungs. Rolling as she landed, she spun her foot aiming for his back before she reached for her second knife. Grunting at the sudden pain he stumbled forward; he was starting to like her. Slipping her second knife out of her boot she flipped it holding it in a reverse grip just like she'd been taught. Turning to face her his eyes flickered to the knife before a smirk crossed his face. Standing slowly, she kept the emotions from her face, unlike the vicious feral expression he wore. Lunging she swiped out at his chest.

Stepping back, he kept the smirk on his face; this reminded him of another time, and he loved the rush he felt. At this moment he was fifteen years old fighting for his next meal to please his master. The blade cut though his shirt but never touched his skin; dancing away from her he twisted. Bloodlust flashed in his eyes as he sent a punch at her side although he held back. Knocking the blow to the side she switched her grip on the knife. Thrusting the blade at his chest she felt an odd sense of relief when he dodged yet the blade drew blood as it nicked his arm.

A wild grin pulled at his lips as she hesitated at the sight of his blood. Slamming his palm into the wrist of the hand holding the knife he watched her wince in pain. The weapon landing on the ground as she dropped it echoed around them, but he didn't care. Ignoring the fallen weapon, he shoved her away making sure to keep his strength under control as he did. Stumbling she chanced a glance at his face, noticing his expression she felt something inside her snap.

Kicking out at him she growled when he moved out of range. Feeling water touch his heels Murphy looked behind him at the river. Taking the opportunity, she lunged and hoped that she didn't miss. Tackling him into the water she tried to hold his head under but before she could cause any real damage, he grabbed her arm. Shoving her up his expression never changed as her back hit the rocky ground of the bank knocking the air from her lungs. Straddling her he grabbed her other hand making sure to keep her pinned under him.

Watching her pant as she tried to catch her breath, he smirked. It was easy to notice how smooth her skin was under his fingers and the rapid pulse he felt while holding her wrists. Watching her dazed expression change back to rage he held her tightly as she snarled at him. There was a fair amount of fear in her eyes as well while she tried to push him away. Warm blood ran down his arm as he stared into her green eyes before his gaze drifted lower. Their clothing clung to both their bodies causing him to notice that the girl beneath him was more than just a hacker.

The last time he'd seen her was on the day of the raid, but he'd been watching her long before that day. It had been hard to ignore the partner of one of the best fighters he'd ever met. Of course, back then she hadn't been anything more than a tiny blonde who acted skittish around him and the other fighters. He doubted she would even remember him if he told her his old codename; he wasn't like Kuro who became famous. His skills had always been nothing more than adequate. The battle talent Kuro had shown had been a type of special that he could never live up to. In a way, he didn't want to live up to the man Kuro had been, talent like that came from pain.

"Sky," he said repeating the name to watch the way her expression change. The anger giving way to desperation as she struggled to push him off. The water crying out as she tried to kick up at him was the only sound other than her rapid breathing the reaction was interesting, staring down at her he said, "Who knew the helpless Princess was Sky. Funny given the fact your supposed to be dead."

"Fuck you," she growled. She'd known that beating him a contest of strength was impossible, but this felt humiliating. Being reminded that she was thought to be dead by the others like them she felt pain run through her body far worse than anything he could do to her. Falling limp, she glared at him.

"Are you going to try and kill me if I let you up," he asked while trying to ignore that she looked like a sulking cat. Along with the fact he would have taken those words as an invitation in a different situation. When she simply glared at him, he shrugged saying, "well you're not the most uncomfortable chair I've ever had."

Huffing in outrage she opened her mouth to argue when he chuckled. Pressing her lips together she stared up at him finally noticing the blood running down his arm. She'd actually hurt him, why did she feel guilty about that fact. It wasn't fair that she felt bad for harming him, but she did. It was true that she'd panicked when he muttered the codename, she'd been given but more than that he hadn't fought back other than to defend himself. She'd been the only one out for blood; the idea made her feel sick.

Before either could speak, they, both tensed at the loud sound of a horn echoing through the area. Sharing a quick glance, they reacted without hesitation. It didn't matter what had happened moments before, right now they had bigger issues than each other. Fighting each other could wait until they were safe from whoever blew the horn or the reason it was blown in the first place. Murphy noticed the same conclusion in her eyes reassuring him that letting her go wouldn't result in his death.

Standing Murphy wasted no time rushing forward; grabbing her knife off the ground he turned. Clarke pushed herself up and looked around warily. Narrowing her eyes at the yellow fog floating above the water she felt her instincts scream to run. Seeing a flash of silver her hand snapped out catching the knife he'd tossed to her before bending and sliding it back into her boot.

Nodding at him to lead the way she followed when the boy took off. What was she doing? Why was she following him without hesitation? She felt confused but even now she knew that he wouldn't hurt her, he'd proved that by the river. He was just like her which meant unless he was a fellow apprentice, he was below her in rank. She'd just tried to kill her own subordinate.

Unaware of her current anxious uncertainty he led her toward the only place they might be safe. Rushing through the forest he headed for the caves he'd seen the last time he went hunting with Bellamy. Clarke was Sky! She was his student, and it all made sense now, Alex Black was the best hacker the Ark had ever had. He was the man who logged into the medical systems to kill the previous chancellor then went undetected for almost a decade. If she was anything like that man, then he was lucky she hadn't killed him the second they were alone.

Dark cave wall closed in around them and Clarke hated the fear she felt as he worries took over. If Murphy told Bellamy who she was then her act would have been for nothing. Watching him pace the small space she knew that killing him would be easy. So why couldn't she do it? Why was she hesitating? Fine, if she couldn't kill him then she would get him on her side. She might not be able to manipulate him but there were other ways of getting his loyalty.

Unamused hazel eyes watched the two from above, although neither noticed. He could tell from their clothing and appearances they were Skaikru. Watching the blonde straighten he was reminded of the woman his mother had ordered him to kill, however this girl had vivid green eyes filled with fire. The boy was lean but muscled, a fighter, but he still backed down when the girl moved toward him. Coming here to Trikru lands to observe the Skaikru hadn't led to much but he had a feeling this situation would prove to be interesting.

Stepping into Murphy's path she met his eyes asking, "What was your name?"

They'd all had codenames due to secrecy and she wanted to know his just in case they'd met before the raid. For a moment he stared down at her with cautious eyes then he huffed and looked away.

"Why," he asked crossing his arms. He had no issue telling her, but he had to know her reasons first. Even if she was the closest thing, they had to a real leader she had still tried to kill him. He understood that he'd surprised her, but most people didn't try to commit murder when startled.

"Because like it or not you're just like me," she snapped. Her mask falling away completely letting him see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes. Her fingers wrapped around his collar as she pulled him closer to her.

"You just tried to kill me," he said not even trying to hide his amusement. Glaring at him she frowned.

"I panicked!" she said. Dropping the glare in favor of a pout, he snickered at her expression. This was going to be fun.

"Lynx," he said smirking as she stepped away from him. Humming softly, she realized that she knew him. She remembered Kuro fighting him, but she hadn't been very interested at the time. At that time, she'd only attended the fights since Kuro fought for the pride of their mentor.

"Why are you letting Bellamy lead," he asked softly. They both knew that if the others learned who she was then they would follow her as the apprentice to the great hacker king she could lead without issue. She'd been trained to lead them as the Black Kings successor she was the closest thing to royalty the criminals of the Ark had. If she wanted, then those of the hundred that laid in wait would follow her.

"I'm not a leader," she said. The conviction in her words wavering slightly when Murphy narrowed his eyes. Bellamy wasn't a horrible leader, but he knew nothing about the people he was trying to control. Eventually those like them would tire of his attempts and take control themselves; he knew that some of the cage fighters would love to have all the power in camp.

"Black wasn't either, but he helped us survive," he said. The man had been ruthless and terrifying but, in the end, he was someone worth following. Sighing he said, "He crippled the Ark, trained you, and we still remember that."

"We?" she asked. He knew what she wanted to know so smirking he met her eyes confidently.

"Seventy-two of us are back at camp watching Blake screw every woman he can find," he said. Hearing her snort, he knew she felt the same way they did. Still he said, "We're getting tired of it."

"I thought you liked Bellamy," she said. He'd been following Bellamy like a lost puppy; it was a trick that she'd seen employed more times then she cared to admit.

"He's a fool that will get us killed," he said. The bluntness of his tone caused her lips to twitch upward. Amusement colored her eyes and he knew she was considering it.

"He has a gun," she said. Murphy tilted his head, if she was worried about it then he would steal the bullets for her.

"You have an army," he told her knowing that those like them would fight for her. Despite being criminals, vagabonds, and orphans, they were loyal to those who proved themselves. Clarke had proven herself when she became Alex Black's heir.

"I have a gang of thugs living on the dreams of a dead man," she said closing herself off once again. The coldness in her voice surprised him but he didn't let it show. Hiding all the emotion he'd managed to coax out of her she stared at him waiting for the moment when he would try to back track.

Up above their silent watcher tensed. His entire body stiffening, it was as if the girl had completely changed in less than a second. In that moment he knew she was dangerous. A threat to him and his people; or rather she would be if he had any people left. A rush of bitterness ran through his body for a moment before he pushed it away. Watching the boy closely for his response he saw him smirk.

"We're criminals, not thugs, and you're the worst of us. Alex Black wouldn't have picked just any little girl to become his apprentice," he said. Clarke winced but found his willingness to bite back interesting. Staring at him she relaxed it was almost as if he'd fallen from enemy to ally. Blinking at the thought she mentally sighed; she was going soft. Finally, he said, "Be our queen, like he was our king."

"Give me time to think," she requested. When he nodded, she turned away from him to watch the cave entrance neither of them noticed their silent watcher move until the tip of his knife was pressed against the tender skin of her throat.


	3. Chapter 3

_Letting her fingers fly across the keys of her tablet Clarke didn't notice she was shivering until Kuro dropped the spotted black and white blanket on her shoulders. Jolting slightly, she glanced up from the bright screen just as he laid down beside her with their knees barely touching. Shifting closer to him she worked slowly deciding to savor this little moment; tensions had been rising in the Ark lately and the guards were getting close to finding them. She was afraid of what would happen when they finally managed to track them down. Her mentor was out talking to the other faction leader, but she felt dread that just wouldn't go away._

_Hearing the door slam open she flinched at the angered form of her mentor. He was almost shaking in rage as he shut the door behind him. Kuro was on his feet in an instant and placing himself between them while she took a little longer to stand. Laying her tablet on the couch she shivered when her mentor turned in their direction. His eyes were those of a wild animal; dark and furious. She'd never seen him so angry before._

_"Clarke, go home," he ordered using her real name for the first time. Frowning, the girl thought about arguing but couldn't bring herself to fight against him. Gripping the back of his chair tightly, the man sneered before motioning Kuro toward him._

_"What are your orders?"_

_"Don't give me that, you're not a slave boy," he snapped causing Kuro to twitch. Rolling his eyes, the man began typing. Pulling up the registration of the apprentices and faction members he fell into this chair. Only the faction leaders had access to the registry, and before today he'd thought that none of them would dare to betray the trust put in them. Running a hand through his hair, he said, "I need you to replace Clarke in the register, while I replace the names of all my people with fakes."_

_"Why not just use a fake name," he asked. While he usually wouldn't question the man, he knew that signing his name as the King's apprentice would be dangerous._

_"Nigel would know. But if I use your name then she'll just think I'm protecting my apprentice," the man stated. Beginning the randomization process for the other names he sighed. The meeting today had shaken the faith he had in his fellow faction leaders. The smuggler was threatening them but none of the others wanted to do anything against her due to their foolish pride. They trusted that she would never do anything to go against them and that would be their downfall._

_"Meaning she won't check the other names."_

_"Correct," he said in the tone of a man praising a dog. Twitching at the tone, he didn't allow any emotion to show on his face._

_"You believe Nigel will betray us," he asked. When the man didn't respond, he nodded slowly in agreement with his master's suggestion. If it was to protect Clarke, he would do anything._

_"Do it."_

**Four years later**

Standing still she met Murphy's eyes as the blade against her neck made her want nothing more than to flee. There was a knife at her neck belonging to a man who neither of them had even noticed, from the grip he had on her, she knew that he would kill her if she made a wrong move. There was a rage in Murphy's eyes, yet it wasn't aimed at her but the man behind her. He smelled of dirt and ash while his touch was firm on her skin.

"What do you want," Murphy asked. Keeping his hands in view of the man behind Clarke; flickering his eyes to meet hers, he frowned. While there was fear in her eyes she wasn't trying to struggle or get away; they both knew doing so wouldn't help anyway.

Saying nothing the man, took a moment to study the two teens. From the muscles in the boy's arms he had some combat training, but it wasn't enough. Against a trained warrior the boy wouldn't last long enough to put up a good fight however the look in his eyes wasn't weak. It was obvious he was fully prepared to fight for the girl, yet he knew better than to charge at a man holding a knife. At least the kids had some kind of common sense, yet they also entered a cave without checking for occupants. He could understand the need to escape the fog, but they were still reckless.

"If you didn't want anything you would have stayed up on the ledge until we left," Murphy said when the man stayed silent.

She'd been shocked when Murphy spoke; even more so because he'd recovered faster than she had. Clinging to the fabric of her shirt to keep herself grounded. She wanted to say something anything but the metal against her neck felt as if it was going to cut into her the moment she spoke. It wasn't the best moment for her to notice how muscular the man holding her was either, but for some reason she did. Still, she should have been able to react faster than this. Why had he'd been able to react when she hadn't?

"I want your word that you'll do whatever I ask in exchange for releasing her," the man stated. There was no room in his tone for negotiating.

This was a snap second decision. He hadn't planned this and in a way that made it much more meaningful. He'd been alone for so long, that seeing people who weren't out to kill him was amazing. He'd been alone since the moment his mother ordered the death of the Commander's paramour. It hadn't come as a shock to him that there had been repercussions for her action but the Commanders choice to allow Azgada into the coalition wasn't what he'd expected. Still he'd paid for his mother's actions and now stood alone.

He'd been alone for so long that it was sometimes easy to forget there were people in the world who didn't hate him. Even when he was being hunted by Trikru he hadn't been afraid but right now he was just tired. He was exhausted with his place in the world, worse still was the fact he was even hunted by his own people. There was no longer a place in this world for him; however, a new clan offered him a new chance to live. Humans weren't created to live alone; he was tired of being alone.

That was a loaded request if she'd ever heard one. In other situations, she would have laughed at the fact he thought a hostage would do him any good when dealing with criminals, but she was the hostage. Meeting Murphy's eyes she saw the brief spark of panic before he smothered it; however, if she'd seen it then her captor might have too. Watching his eyes harden, she shouldn't have felt as relieved as she did but knowing he had made a choice helped her calm down.

"You get one request," Murphy stated.

Or maybe she should have drowned him in the river. Pinning him with a glare that she hoped would cause him to catch on fire only caused him to look away from her. He didn't have to worry about their new friend killing him since the second she got free she was going to murder him herself. How was this bargaining for her life? She was going to strangle him until he begged her to let him go.

"I'm holding a knife to her neck," the man stated as if any of them could forget that fact. She personally agreed that him holding a blade to her neck was much more important than Murphy protecting his pride.

He was mildly shocked that the boy could think straight in this situation but perhaps that was a good thing. If they managed to stay in control of their emotions during this situation then it was possible that they weren't just unlucky foolish children destined to die. He could work with fools, but rational people were a much better option. Hearing the girl in his hold let out an almost inaudible growl he almost chuckled.

"One hostage, one request," Murphy explained causing her to sigh. He had a point; in fact, she would most likely do the exact same thing if their situations were reversed. That didn't mean she had to like it, however. It just wasn't fair that she'd been the one who got caught instead of him. While it might be selfish, she would rather he be the one with a knife to his neck rather than her.

"I agree," she said although the words physically hurt her. They would also hurt him the second she got this knife away from her neck.

Resisting the urge to laugh at their actions he decided that this course of action might have been the best after all. It was possible that this entire conversation could be a mistake, but it was also possible that joining Skaikru would give him a chance to live not just survive. Neither of these two kids were foolish; they knew fully that he could kill them, yet they stayed calm. There was so much to the world they didn't know, but they had potential.

"If either of you refuse, I will kill her," the man, she really wanted to know his name, said.

"Agreed," She said. Putting her life in danger wasn't something she was used to but putting her life in someone else's hands was somehow even more terrifying.

"I wish to join your clan," he said. This was the moment of truth. If they rejected him then he would kill both of them and be gone before the day was over.

Frowning, Clarke met Murphy's eyes once again as he reacted to the same shock that she felt. Out of everything possible neither of them had expected this kind of request. She'd thought he'd want to know about their numbers and abilities rather than wanting to join them. Felling confused she blinked as Murphy tilted his head in confusion. Neither of them knew how to react to his request, not because they were against the idea but because they didn't know how they would go about accepting him into the hundred.

"Not lead it," Murphy asked. He'd thought that anyone who looked like a masked Viking wouldn't want to follow anyone else.

"Would your people follow an outsider," he asked sounding honestly offended by the very idea. Clarke resisted the urge to scoff. If they gave them a few more days then there was a real chance that, their fellow criminals would take any chance to replace Bellamy. From the brief expression of amusement Murphy was thinking the same thing that she was.

"Why join us anyway, don't you have your own people," she asked with curiosity in her voice. If there was one survivor there was bound to be more than one. She knew that if there were people alive down here than they probably weren't very happy that people had landed in their territory. With Bellamy leading it was likely that someone would start a war sooner or later. If she was the leader then she'd have already started preparing for the possibility of war the second she realized that there were survivors.

"I was banished for my mother's actions," he said bluntly. His voice had the tone of an annoyed adult talking to children about why they couldn't burn their hands on the stove. His words meant that he did have people and that they were most likely not willing to be allies with intruders. He'd also been banished for the actions of his mother; she supposed that his mother must hold a high place in the world if her child could be punished but she couldn't.

"Can we have a moment to discuss it," She asked.

This could be an opportunity for them, for all of them. The man currently holding a knife to her neck, knew things about this world that they didn't. He'd been born on the ground, knew more than they could learn in years, yet he was banished. There was nowhere for him to go unless his people wanted to take him back, which was doubtful if he was living in a cave. If he was willing to join them it was possible, he could teach them how to survive down here and about the world in general. When thinking about it like that, it was almost as if he was a blessing rather than a stranger.

She didn't quite know what bringing him into the Hundred would cause but she was willing to take the chance if it helped them survive. Bellamy wouldn't agree but she was pretty sure that he would rather shoot himself than give up the power that let him control the Hundred; that let him protect his sister. Contrary to her brother, Octavia had been sending all the right signals that she would have survived in the darkness of the Ark; at this point she was willing to bet Octavia would have thrived in the darkness.

"You may," he said but pointedly didn't take the blade away from her neck. There was no way he would allow them to speak alone and find a strategy that could get him killed.

"Clarke, Bellamy won't accept an outsider into the 100," Murphy said once he realized that she was considering accepting the man. He didn't care that the man was watching them.

"I would have to take control," she said. It wouldn't be fun to be in charge of a large group of teens. Meeting Murphy's eyes she tilted her head mildly wondering what the Ark would do when they came down. Eventually they would be forced to use the exodus ships or to suffocate. If she was the leader of the Hundred then she would have power over those that came down or at the very least she could turn the others permanently against the Ark. Straightening she ignored the blade against her neck as she thought of a plan. Meeting Murphy's eyes she said, "but to do that we'd need the support of the others. I looked over the files of everyone before we came down here but those didn't list the factions or those who got away from the raid only to be caught later."

Blinking, Murphy frowned before smirking. Of course, the Black King's apprentice would be a skilled hacker. Briefly he wondered if she'd done anything to get back at the Ark before they were sent away but he knew that was a question he wouldn't get an answer to. At least not right now. He needed to gain her trust before he got any sort of information from her. Still he was vaguely sure that he'd heard something about hackers being the bane of the Ark's existence.

"I'll get Fox to talk to everyone, but it will take a day or two before everything's in place," he said. Fox would be annoyed at having to deal with getting everything in place, but the girl wouldn't mind to much. Clarke felt like slapping herself; of course, Fox was one of them. The quiet girl had been watching everyone since they landed. Glancing at her with something that seemed like concern he said, "You should know that once you do this, there is no going back."

There wasn't any way to take back leading a group of teens who seemed more concerned with their hormones than anything else. She was sure that her father would be proud of her stepping up to lead the Hundred, but she didn't know if her mentor would. Alex had been ruthless and cruel but more than that he'd been rational. Now that she knew for sure there were people; being on her own was no longer an option.

"We accept you in our clan," she said.

The second the words left her mouth the knife left her neck. Stepping away from him was as much grace as she could the girl put distance between them while he sheathed his knife. Moving until she stood beside Murphy, she turned to look at the man who was currently pulling off his mask. He was older than them most likely in his twenties with dark hair but the thing that caught her attention was the scars on his face. They were to uniform to be caused by an animal which meant they'd been done by another person. Meeting her eyes briefly he didn't every try to apologize for putting a blade to her neck. She most likely wouldn't have apologized either, after all holding a knife to her neck had gotten him what he wanted. Raising an eyebrow when his lip tilted upward briefly, she decided not to ask what he found amusing.

"Good, now you should both get dry before you catch a cold," he said motioning to their still-wet clothes. Blinking she looked down at her shirt as if she'd just realized it was wet while Murphy scoffed at the idea a mere cold could harm him. Shaking off the unfamiliar tone in the man's voice she tugged at her shirt for a moment before remembering trying to drown Murphy in the river and nodding to herself.

"I'm Clarke Griffin, that's John Murphy everyone calls him Murphy," she said ignoring Murphy who rolled his eyes at her introduction.

"Roan," he said as he turned to walk back into the depths of the cave.

Barely waiting until he'd walked past them, Clarke lashed out hitting Murphy in the chest. Flinching a bit, he turned away from her knowing all too well what her action meant. He'd known that she would be angered at his actions he just hadn't expected her to immediately lash out at him. Given who her partner was he supposed that it wasn't really a surprise. It was likely Kuro would have done way worse if the man was here to see this.

Studying the girl as she moved to sit down with her back leaning against the stone cave wall, he wondered if she ever thought about the Raid. Since none of those that escaped or were caught knew what else to call it, they'd settle on the Raid for the day everything went to hell. Most of the kids like them had escaped, but he'd heard some of the ringleaders and their apprentices were killed. Of course, the Guard called it 'put down' as if they were animals but he tried not to think about that fact. The council hated the thought that any of their citizens could be anything other than law-abiding fools; it was the reason they were so quick to act once they had evidence.

He could still remember the doors flying open and the area flooding with guards. He'd been one of the lucky few to escape; she had too apparently. Although it was possible, she'd been absent the day of the Raid, he wasn't so sure. She might hide it well, but he could tell she hated the Ark, almost as much as he did. Kuro had claimed to be the apprentice to the Black King and was executed along with his mentor, yet everyone knew the apprentice was a petite blonde teen girl. However, despite knowing that no one had said a word to the Guard and the records were changed to match their story. Someone had known that the Raid was coming and prepared for the worst-case scenario. That someone was most likely the Black King, but how he knew was still an issue.

"Murphy why are you staring at me," she asked causing him to twitch. Blinking as the world came back into focus, he noticed that she'd taken off her boots and jacket. Pinning him with her gaze she wore an expression of confusion as she waited for him to explain why he'd been watching her for the last five minutes.

"I was thinking," he said before sending her a glare when her lips tilted upward. That was not an invitation for her to mock him.

Moving to sit across from her, he sent a sharp glance at Roan who was leaning against the wall between them causing a triangle formation to appear. Narrowing his eyes at the man who seemed to be sleeping he knew that Roan was awake. No one would fall asleep in a cave with two potential enemies; or were they allies now. He would wait until the man did something that proved which side he was on. Either way he didn't trust Roan right now.

"About," she asked drawing his attention back to her.

"The Raid," he said watching her closely. She tensed for a moment before forcing her body to relax. Turning away from him, she turned her attention to the cave floor as if it was the most interesting thing around. For a moment he wanted to force her to tell him the answers he wanted, but he forced the urge away.

Neither of them had the urge to talk about the raid or their time on the Ark. They simply waited until the fog ended so they could return to the dropship. Clarke had no doubt that dealing with Bellamy would be hard, even more so since he allies in the group. It also wouldn't be easy to introduce Roan to the group either. All the Hundred had been fearing the grounders since the moment they realized they weren't alone. Roan was proof that the survivors could be a threat, but he was also their chance to survive themselves; she just had to convince the others of that fact.

Turning her jacket inside out she folded it to use as a pillow before laying with her back to the two. She was officially done talking to either of them; mainly because if she continued talking to them she might snap at them. The mention of the Raid had reminded her that the Ark still existed. Part of her was pleased with the knowledge that the Ark would soon be tearing itself apart, but the rest knew that nothing she did to the Ark would bring back the people she lost. Closing her eyes, she tried to sleep, it would be a while until they could leave the cave and return to the dropship. Once they returned the task of taking control of the Hundred would begin.

She'd been groomed to lead the hacker faction, but she had no idea how to lead the Hundred. Bellamy's method of leadership wasn't going to work either; for one she wasn't about to have sex in order to stay in power. Clenching her hand on her jacket she felt her heart sink; this might be the last time she would be able to sleep safely. Knowing that Murphy was watching her she tried to pretend that everything was alright. At least she would have Wells to help her; he had after all been trained as a leader.

Hearing her breathing even out, Murphy frowned before turning his attention to Roan. He didn't understand how she could sleep with the man sitting right there but he wasn't going to ask. Watching the man's eyes open, he twitched. He'd known the man wasn't asleep; he'd called it, and no one could say otherwise. The urge to stand and cheer due to him being right was cut into a million pieces by the smirk on Roan's face. Well in truth the man's lips just twitched but he knew it was a smirk.

"You said you were banished," he said gaining only a slow blink in response. Feeling his hand clench, he wished that he could punch the man in the face. Narrowing his gaze, he asked, "What did your mother do?"

When nothing but silence met his question, he felt like slamming his head against the cave wall. Of course, the man wasn't going to answer him, just another reason not to trust Roan. Just because he could understand why the man would want to distance himself from his past, that didn't mean he was going to drop his guard so easy. Just when he was about to give up on talking to the man, Roan stood. Meeting the man's gaze, he shivered just a bit at the ice he saw.

"The day my past becomes a problem is the day I'll tell you," Roan said.

He hated thinking about his mother. He hated thinking about the Azgada because it was still his home and he loved the idea of it. He'd thought about going back for so long that just the idea tore him apart. No other clan would take in the man banished by Heda herself, so this was his last chance at regaining a sense of normalcy. Pulling down a fur blanket from his hidden ledge, he moved to gently lay it over the sleeping girl. She looked so much more vulnerable in her sleep. Handing a second blanket to Murphy he wasn't surprised that the boy glared at him for a moment before taking it.

The stubbornness the boy had shown could make him into a good warrior, especially because it was tempered by his loyalty to Clarke. It was obvious that the boy was the more suspicious and cynical of the two, however he wondered if that was only an act to keep from being hurt. Putting the thought out of his mind, he sat back down near the entrance to the cave. If he was joining their clan then he wasn't about to let any harm come to the two.

"Now try to sleep, the fog will not fade for a while," he said keeping his eyes on the entrance.

"Fine."

(Abby)

She hadn't taken her eyes off the blackened screen that had once been her daughters in hours. Clarke had always been a medical prodigy, and she'd never needed her mother. She'd always seemed as if she could take care of herself, so Abby had left her to her own devices. Although she hated to admit it, this was the first time in years that she'd thought about her daughter for longer than a moment. Her husband had been the one who was in Clarke's life the most. He'd been the one their daughter could rely on; and Abby had gotten him killed.

For the Ark, she'd sacrificed by the husband and her daughter. She knew that she'd done the right thing, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilt. During Clarke's time in lockup she hadn't even gone to see her. She'd been too busy running medical to visit her own daughter. Now she would never get another chance to talk to her. She'd sent those kids down there to die, all so that her daughter could have a chance to live and Clarke had been the first to die.

All her life, she'd only wanted what was best for her daughter and the Ark, now she'd lost her child. She was a horrible mother. In every decision, her daughter had come second; was this the price to pay for her actions. Closing her eyes slowly she bowed her head only for it to shoot back up when someone came thundering through the door. Looking at Sinclair, she frowned as he moved to stand in front of Kane. Standing she walked to stand beside Kane who seemed more exhausted every day. He glanced at her with a wary expression but didn't say anything, instead, he motioned to the other man to give his report.

"We tracked down the source of the signal," Sinclair said sounding as if he expected a cookie. Holding out a plain-looking tablet to Markus he watched the other man closely. Abby honestly had no idea what he was expecting to get out of acting like a hyper puppy.

"Where," Kane asked as he took the device. It was completely dead but charging it would be simple. He ignored Sinclair's disappointed expression.

"The Sky Box. Specifically, the cell of convict Clarke Griffin," Sinclair said.

Abby froze as she processed the words. Her daughter would never do something like this. Sure, Clarke was a little angry with the council, but she wouldn't jeopardize the safety of every citizen just for revenge. Besides this was Alex Black's code, her daughter had never even met the man. The only person who would have access to his personal code would be his apprentice; that boy had been floated along with Alex.

"No," she snapped when Kane seemed to think about the idea. Glaring at both men she dared them to push the subject. Even if her daughter was a criminal, Clarke was still her daughter. She wouldn't allow her to be targeted or framed by the real perpetrator.

"Abby -"

"No, my daughter would never have anything to do with something like this," she said narrowing her eyes. Daring them to say anything about her daughter she didn't care if speaking out like this made Kane her enemy. She'd already failed her daughter for years she wouldn't allow her to be blamed for something like this. it was easy to ignore the fact that she had no idea exactly who her daughter really was.

"Who does the tablet belong too," Kane asked. He knew when to pick his battles.

"We don't know, Cl-Someone deleted the information from our systems," Sinclair said. Wilting under the doctor's glare, he was thankful that she hadn't made a move to lash out at him.

"Ask around, if this isn't Clarke, then we need to know who would want to frame her," Kane said sharply. Laying the tablet on his desk he moved back toward the monitors. Watching Sinclair move to follow the orders, Abby reached out slowly. With a quick glance at Kane, she grabbed the tablet before exiting the room. She needed answers and she couldn't risk them being right that her daughter was responsible for this. Closing his eyes as she left, Kane tried to pretend that he hadn't seen anything.

(Clarke)

She wasn't ashamed to say that she shoved Murphy out the entrance of the cave first. The annoyed glance he sent her was well worth it despite the danger he would have been in. Hearing Roan chuckle behind them she let her lips twitch upward into a smirk. While the man had told them that it was safe, she was more than willing to allow Murphy to check the danger level for her. Hearing him call out that it was safe, she stalked out of the cave with her head held high. The mild glare he gave her was quickly ignored.

If he was actually upset, she had no doubt he would show it a lot more. Hearing Roan move behind her she glanced up at the man before holding her hand out to Murphy who still hadn't gotten up from the ground. The older man was busy scanning their surroundings as she pulled Murphy to his feet. She had no idea how they were going to introduce Roan to the other teens. Going slow would be the best option.

"So, what are you doing while we're at camp," Murphy asked as he brushed the leaves and dirt off his pants. Catching the raised eyebrow from Clarke he smirked at her. She wasn't the only one who was curious about their newest clan member. It would be weird to think of the Hundred as a clan now too.

"I'll be scouting the area," he said. There was more than Trikru assigned to spy on the kids. If he managed to find some members of Azgada he might be able to turn them to his side. He just hoped it wasn't some of the more fanatical spies.

"Be careful," Clarke ordered.

Stilling at the sudden glare she threw at him; he raised an eyebrow. This girl really was a demanding little thing. Even then she was still a better option than his mother or Heda. There was even a bit of worry in her eyes; something that he hadn't been expecting. It was true that she seemed cold and apathetic, so seeing worry was a little surprising. Slumping under her glare he nodded slowly in agreement with her order. He might be going to look for potential allies, but he wasn't foolish enough to think any of them would listen.

"Always."

Feeling her glare falter at his word, she watched him vanish into the tree line with a feeling of dread. Straightening she pushed the feeling back with a mental note that she wasn't attached. She didn't care if he died nor did she care if anyone in the Hundred died except Wells. This was nothing but a way to survive. She wasn't about to allow herself to care about people who might die; not again. She resolutely ignored the tiny voice in her head that said she was lying.

"Let's head back," she said. They'd been away from camp for much too long. At this point someone could have tried to murder Wells for existing. Turning to walk in the direction of camp she heard Murphy scoff.

"Right, can't have Bellamy fuck us over any more than he already has," he said.

"We both know that we're not the ones being fucked," she stated before slamming a hand over her mouth. The sarcasm of the statement rang in the air before Murphy began laughing. She hadn't meant to say the words out loud. Groaning she shrank under the laughter of the boy next to her hoping that he would forget what she'd said within a few moments.

Before he could start teasing her, a scream reached their ears. It was a loud and shrill sound that echoed in the forest around them. Sharing a glance, the two knew that it was from a fellow member of the Hundred. No one like Roan would start screaming and draw all enemies to their location. Clarke twitched slightly before nodding at Murphy; it would be best to go and see what was happening. Letting him take the lead she kept an eye on the trees around them as they moved toward the sound. Coming to a stop when they reached the source, she was thankful that Murphy didn't move to hide the cause from her.

What they found was both what she expected and much worse than she'd thought. One of the boys from Bellamy's hunting team, the one that usually hung around Octavia, was laying on the ground with sever acid burns. It was the work of the fog; nice to know her instincts were as good as ever. His lungs were likely burned as well given that he most likely inhaled some of it. The burns weren't just charred skin meaning it was only second degree so he would be feeling all the pain. His clothes were probably sticking to his skin due to the blisters. He had to be in agony; it was fascinating. Horrible yes but fascinating as well.

Hearing heavy breathing beside her, she turned seeing Charlotte the youngest member of the Hundred about to have a panic attack. Right, well, she could think about the acid fog later. Right now, it was time to play compassionate healer. Tapping Murphy on the shoulder she motioned to the little girl; it took him less than a second to understand what she wanted. Nodding he grabbed the girl's shoulders and began trying to calm her down. Kneeling, he tried to get the kid to focus on him while the other boys from Bellamy's hunting party proved their uselessness by doing nothing but staring.

Moving to stand across from Bellamy and the boy who was begging for death; it honestly surprised her that his vocal cords still worked. Of course, there were burns on the inside of his mouth too so speaking had to be horrible. Bellamy's hands were shaking as he held the knife that would end the boys; what was his name again. Wracking her brain, she gave a mental cheer when she remembered that it was Atom, before turning her attention back to Bellamy who now had tears in his eyes.

It was slightly unsettling to see him about to cry, but she recognized this for what it was, a moment of vulnerability. He was weak right now, not only because he was about to cry, but because was feeling the shame and guilt that accompanied self-blame. It was easy to see that he blamed himself for Atom's unfortunate state, and she could use that. Slowly kneeling beside Atom, she ran her eyes over the boy's body. Acid fog seemed like a horrible way to die. If this was the Ark, he would be kept alive for research purposes so they could determine the extent of the damage it could cause and how long someone could survive it. Lucky for him this wasn't the Ark.

Reaching out she took the knife from Bellamy's shaking hands. The hopeless glance he gave her wasn't even slightly amusing; there was nothing amusing about this situation. Offering Atom, a gentle smile, she ran a hand through his hair. It would be faster to simply cut this throat, but by acting compassionate she would be able to gain Bellamy to her side. Keeping her movements gentle she whispered quiet words of comfort to the dying boy as she quickly pushed the knife into his neck. Pulling it out, she ignored the eyes on her, in favor of keeping eye contact with the boy.

There was gratitude in his eyes as they became dark and lifeless. For just a second, she glanced down at the knife in her hand and wanted to hurl it across the forest, but she pushed the feeling back. This was what was best for Atom, and for her plans; that didn't mean that she liked taking his life. Letting go of the knife she stood and walked around his body to face Bellamy. He was looking up at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. She wanted to slap him and call him a fool for allowing his weakness to show, instead she dropped back down to her knees and pulled him into a hug.

Whispering assurances in his ear, she brushed a gentle hand through his hair when he returned the hug. He clung to her tightly as he struggled to keep from breaking apart. Death on the Ark, for most people, was simply watching someone fly into the cold void of space. She'd seen more people die both in the raid and in medical than he had. In fact, if she had to guess this was the first time, he'd seen someone die. She didn't blame him for falling apart. Something like this was bound to hurt. Glancing over his shoulder, she met Murphy's eyes as Charlotte clung to his shirt sobbing.

Murphy hadn't believed Bellamy had it in him to kill someone and he'd been proven right. Not only had the man hesitated but just seeing death hurt him. From their own reactions none of the other members of the hunting party had any idea how to deal with this situation either. His first thought had been to walk away and let the boy suffer; Atom wasn't his friend, and he had no reason to care. Feeling the girl tighten her grip on his shirt, he laid a hand on her head.

It was obvious now that this world would gladly kill them all. Watching Clarke comfort Bellamy, he knew she was acting. While he had no doubt that she felt sympathy for Atom, she didn't really care about the boy. If she was trying to get Bellamy on her side then swooping in during a vulnerable moment was a good idea. He just hoped that the older man didn't do anything foolish; then again this was Bellamy.


	4. Chapter 4

_Her mom was gone again, it wasn’t something she’d realized would affect her until she woke up wishing she was here. Of course, hiding in the hallway after curfew wasn’t her smartest choice but she didn’t want to be alone. Not when her dad was working overtime for the first time in three months. He was always there even when her mom wasn’t but for the first time they were both working leaving her alone. Hence why she was curled up in the hallway staring out the window. She didn’t notice she wasn’t alone until someone sat down beside her._

_He was tall with dark eyes that scared her. He held a tablet in his hand but wasn‘t looking at it. Instead, he pressed his back against the wall and stared out the window without seemingly paying attention to her. She could tell that he was however because he was watching her out the corner of his eye. It was strange yet she also felt that he wasn’t going to hurt her._

_“So, how are you doing kiddo,” he asked raising an eyebrow at her. Leaning back, she winced at the question._

_“Not good,” she admitted. She wanted her parents to care about her and her father was the only one who even thought about her._

_“You’re Abby Griffin’s kid,” he stated his eyes turning cold. The tone caused her to curl up even more as he huffed out a sigh and turned away._

_“Yeah.”_

_She hated being recognized as Abby’s kid. It was degrading, insulting, all-around annoying, but there was nothing she could do to change who her mother was. Why couldn’t her father get the same recognition that her mother did? Why was she just known as Abby’s little girl rather than for her own intelligence? It wasn’t fair or right, but neither was life so she would just deal with it. After all, she was a genus with more than enough knowledge to understand the world around her._

_“Guess your mom is off working,” he stated. There was a bit of amusement in his voice as if he knew something that she didn’t. Glancing up at him she felt her heart freeze at the dark cruel smirk on his face. There was far more amusement in his tone than she thought possible for a human; it fascinated her. Her mouth dried at the almost wicked tone as he said, “Well kid, I’m Alex Black.”_

_“Clarke,” she offered. Hearing him chuckle she had no doubt that he’d already known her name._

_“So, shouldn’t you be in bed, there is a curfew,” he asked. Shrugging she looked away from him and went back to staring out the window._

_“I couldn’t sleep so I came to look at the sky,” she said. The dark void of space was terrifying but the moments when Earth came into view were unbelievably tempting. She wanted to be on the ground not sitting here trapped in this metal box._

_“Hey kid, how about you come to work for me,” he asked. The sudden offer caused her to jolt as she turned her attention back to him. Staring at him in shock her skin burned under his dark eyes. She almost didn’t hear him say, “I can guarantee you won’t be bored.”_

_“I don’t know you,” she said although the words sounded weak to her. If anything, his smirk widened._

_“Well I’m the Black King a hacker who just offed the Chancellor,” he said boldly. The blinding determination in his eyes caused her to shiver but she had no idea why. What she did know was that at that moment he was more tempting than the Earth. The determination and cruelty in his eyes were like a sun burning away everything in his path. He was terrifying yet amazing at the same time. For just a second, she felt the desire to watch him destroy the world around him with unyielding power. digging her nails into her thigh, it was the only thing that grounded her when he asked, “What do you say want to rule the world with me, my little Sky?”_

_There was nothing else she could do but nod. Her voice was trapped in her throat, she had no idea if she could even speak; she’d forgotten how. Grinning brightly at her he patted her on the head gently reminding her of her father. Shifting slightly, she could do nothing more than stare as he turned his attention to the tablet in his hand. Instead of ignoring her however he moved closer and began walking her through what he was doing. At that moment she wanted to be just like him._

**Present Day**

Camp was quiet, it was the first thing that Clarke realized as she woke up. Sitting up on her cot, she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, instead, she moved to stand. Almost stumbling she winced as her feet carried her to the small area that she’d stuffed her clothing. Tugging on her jacket and boots she frowned slightly wondering just how long she’d been asleep. Usually, Wells would be the one to come wake her in the morning. He was after all the only person besides Murphy that knew her true personality. As such he was the only one, she wouldn’t attack for waking her up. 

In her opinion camp was too quiet, to make things worse she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Wells when they’d returned last night. Her own exhaustion had caused her to collapse on her cot the second she returned. She barely even remembered him running a hand through her hair before tugging off her boots. Frowning, she glanced toward the open door of the dropship before narrowing her gaze as dread took root in her bones. Something was wrong; Wells should’ve already been waking her up or at least near enough for her to see him when she woke. Instead, he was nowhere to be found. Pulling on her boots she glanced up as Murphy pushed back the curtain blocking her sleeping area from the rest of the dropship. 

His eyes were guarded as he looked at her, but she could see past his barriers. It was an expression of guilt and horror that sparked in the background of his gaze. Straightening she didn’t even care that her hair was tangled as she studied the other teen. Even when Roan had held a knife to her neck, he hadn’t looked at her like this. Had something happened while she was asleep? Stupid question of course something had happened; why else would he look at her with pity. Wait, pity, there was no reason for him to look at her with pity. She wasn’t some foolish little girl, nor had she lost anyone. It was possible that this was about her killing Atom, but she doubted it. They both knew she hadn’t cared about the boy. 

The only person in this camp she would even remotely miss if they died was Wells, but he was safe. He was hers no one would insult her by killing him. She was the camp doctor after all; they needed her. It didn’t matter if he was the Chancellor's son, no one would raise a hand to him if she lived, would they? Why did she feel so sick suddenly? Forcing her face to remain blank she barely noticed Murphy moving until his hands were on her shoulders. His mouth was moving but she didn’t hear anything. Was the room supposed to be spinning? 

A hand touched the back of her neck for only an instant before there were lips pressed against her own. Jolting violently, she shoved herself away from Murphy as she desperately breathed in her eyes were wild enough to make him flinch. She had been hyperventilating; a panic attack at the thought of losing Wells. Logically the only way for him to snap her out of it quickly had been to kiss her or slap her. Emotionally she wished that he’d chosen the second option. Forcing herself to relax, she took a deep breath as she tried to steady herself. 

“Start talking,” she ordered. For just a second, he hesitated his eyes flashing with concern only for it to vanish replaced with hardened determination. Pinning him with a cold gaze she listened intently as he told her everything. 

The patrol had found Wells around dawn this morning. His body had already been cold when they stumbled across him after that he’d been carried into camp. Now he was laying on a tarp with Bellamy hidden in his tent unable to decide what to do. No one knew what to do, so they’d left him lying there in the hot sun for hours. More than that however her allies were searching for any information on his death. Even Monty was digging around trying to find out what happened. At this point, she would rather burn the camp to the ground than wait for their report. 

Looking down at her shaking hands she wanted to scream instead she ordered Murphy to lead her to the body. This was personal. It was already bad enough that no one had buried him, but she wouldn’t allow him to rot in the sun any longer than he had to. The boy across from her hesitated once again his eyes darting past her shoulder as he made it clear he disagreed with her decision. Then he was leading her out of the dropship with thinly veiled anger in his steps. Part of her wondered if he was angry with her but she shoved that part so far down that it died screaming. There was nothing more that she wanted right now than to crawl back into bed and cry however she had a job to do. 

They hadn’t even covered him. It was the first thought that ran through her head when her eyes landed on his body. The joy-filled eyes that had made her feel loved and safe were glossy and lifeless. Her knees gave out sending her crashing to the ground by his side even as Murphy reached out. His hand hovered over her shoulder as she trembled, but he didn’t touch her. Instead, he stood at her back watching her fall apart unable to do anything to help her. Cursing internally, he turned away from her meeting Fox’s eyes instead. The usual playfulness was gone from her gaze, instead, she was staring back at him with a hardened gaze. 

She nodded. It was a subtle small thing but enough for him to know that they were ready to make their move. Three days ahead of schedule and they were ready to take over the camp. There was an honor in how one dealt with the dead, Bellamy had misplayed his hand and now they were going to sweep the world from under his feet. Returning the nod, he shifted his attention back to Clarke who had composed herself. The cold mask was back in place despite the rage shining in her eyes. It was almost terrifying how quickly she regained control of her emotions but mostly it was sad. He could barely contain his own anger at her loss. 

Forcing herself to become calm, Clarke shoved all her emotion into a little box in her head. There would be time to mourn after she found his killer. Reaching out she grabbed his cold wrist noting the fingers he’d lost; he’d fought back. It was likely that he’d thrown up his hand to protect his neck, however, if it had happened before the neck wound it was likely that he would have run away. Studying the neck wound she frowned. It was sloppy. The skin was torn rather than sliced; more than that however it must’ve been rushed. The knife hadn’t hit his artery either instead it had sunk into his neck with just enough force to make him drown in his own blood. A cruel and messy death that would have left him to suffer for minutes before sub coming. 

He didn‘t deserve to have died this way, not when the only thing he’d ever done wrong was followed her down here. it was her fault that he was dead. She should never have left him alone in a camp full of people that hated his father. This was all her fault and there was nothing she could do to fix this; nothing could bring back the dead. looking at the frozen expression of terror on his face, she wished more than anything she could look away, however, she refused. Whoever killed him had messily tried to copy the method she‘d used to kill Atom. 

None of Roan’s people would be so sloppy, and neither would those that belonged to the criminal underground of the Arc. More than that however she could narrow it down to the people that had been around when she killed Atom. Bellamy was out, he was too weak to kill someone. That left his hunting party and Charlotte. Any of the boys wouldn’t have been able to get inside Wells' guard but a little girl would have. He had always been far too soft. Glancing around as she pushed herself to her feet she didn’t see the small blonde anywhere. 

“Monty, can you gather enough wood to build a pyre,” she said phrasing the order as a request. His almost instant nod was adorable, but she ignored the puppy-like expression on his face as she turned her attention to Fox. The dark-haired girl raised an eyebrow but straightened all the same under the blonde's gaze. 

“Fox, where’s Charlotte,” she asked causing Murphy to suck in a breath behind her. Just like the boy behind her the other girl connected the dots her eyes flickering to Wells for a moment before she hardened. 

“With Bellamy, he took her and his sister into his tent a few hours ago along with Miller and a few more of his men,” she reported. The words didn’t even catch Clarke off guard instead she nodded and turned her gaze on Bellamy’s tent. 

“Get two more of your group and follow me,” she ordered without hesitation. The anger in her tone hadn’t faded if anything she seemed more murderous than heartbroken. 

Bellamy had just dived off a cliff and he didn’t even know it yet. Murphy almost felt bad for the man, he was vaguely sure Clarke was about to flay the skin from his body before finally killing him. The man wasn’t the killer, but he was protecting Charlotte who he trusted Clarke had enough proof to say was the murderer. He doubted she would kill the girl; it was unlikely that she could stomach something like that, however, something had to be done. Even if she was a child killing one of their own wasn’t going to be a slap on the wrist offense. 

When Fox returned with Harper and Drax he was almost surprised. He'd known that Drax was a fighter just like him, but Harper was a surprise. The warm eyes the girl had just didn’t fit for someone who worked with Fox. Then again, he was pretty sure that anyone not in the know would consider Fox herself an innocent teenager. In reality, the girl was deadly and scared even him when she got upset. Returning his attention to Clarke as she nodded sharply before stalking toward Bellamy’s tent, he fell into step behind her making sure that no one would have an open shot at her back. 

She didn’t bother to announce herself as she entered the tent. Miller and a few guards were talking in hushed voices that cut off abruptly at her actions, but she ignored them in favor of Bellamy. He'd shot to his feet and now stood protectively in front of Charlotte and Octavia. Glancing at the black-haired girl who had no idea what was going on, she frowned but decided not to deal with her at the moment instead she flickered her gaze to Charlotte. The blonde child buckled under the anger in her eyes almost whimpering as she reached out to grab Bellamy’s jacket. 

The guilt in the girl’s eyes was enough to confirm Clarke’s suspicions. She'd killed Wells a little girl had killed her best friend. Hands shaking, she clenched her fists to make them stop as Bellamy stepped forward to try calming her down. If he was smart enough to read her mood, then he wouldn’t have even tried. She barely stopped herself from snarling at him when he tried to tell her Murphy was the one responsible. If the cruel chuckle from behind her was any indication, the boy was just as angry. 

“So, the girl should not be punished,” she asked trying to give him one chance to tell her the truth. She didn‘t want him to be her enemy but she was willing to cut her losses if he pushed his luck. 

“She’s just a little girl. She didn‘t know what she was doing,” he said although the words sounded hollow even to him. Clarke’s fingers twitched even as Octavia’s brow scrunched in confusion. 

“Bullshit!” 

She snarled sounding almost feral as she stepped toward him. The immediate reaction of him pulling a gun on her was all the signal her people needed. Flicking her wrist, Fox caught the knife that fell from her sleeve before flipping it in her hand and throwing it at the man. Crying out Bellamy dropped the gun as he crumbled holding his wrist while Octavia was torn between shock and awe. Murphy whistled all at once remembering just what faction the dark-haired girl had been a part of as she smiled wickedly. Drax snickered as he raised a spear in the direction of Millar and the other guards while Harper innocently twirled a knife between her fingers. The time for hiding was over. 

Bending Clarke picked up the gun ignoring Octavia as she hurried to her brother’s side. It was obvious he hadn’t told her anything. Turning her attention to Charlotte over the siblings she refused to allow the gun in her hand to tremble. Wells was dead because this little girl decided to kill him. She didn’t know why Charlotte had chosen to do so and part of her didn’t care. There was no excuse that the girl could give her that would make Wells suddenly come back to life. She didn’t want excuses anyway she wanted justice or vengeance either one would make her breathe easier. She wanted someone to hurt just as much as she was hurting so she wouldn’t be alone. She wanted... 

It was the hand on her shoulder that kept her from pulling the trigger. Not the sobbing expression of the little girl or the way Bellamy begged her to stop; she didn’t care about those things. The grip on her shoulder tightened but it wasn’t enough to bruise. Relaxing, she lowered her arm the order to lock them in the dropship falling from her lips like ice. Murphy’s hand never left her shoulder as her people left the tent slowly. Every one of them knew that she’d been close to killing the little girl due to her own anger. Holding the gun so tightly that her hands were shaking, she didn’t look up until Murphy slowly took the gun from her hand. 

“Killing her wouldn’t have changed anything,” she admitted despite the way the words felt like acid in her mouth. 

“No, it might’ve even caused the others to hate you, after all, she is a little girl,” Murphy said as he looked down at the gun in his hand. He'd been about to let her kill the girl and if it hadn’t been for knowing she would regret it later than he would have. Checking to make sure the safety was on he dropped it beside Bellamy’s bed. 

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered just loud enough for him to hear her. Looking down at her hands she hated how weak she was. Why did she keep losing those she cared about? His hands slid over her own to draw her attention as he studied her for a long moment. 

“I can’t bring him back, but I do know one thing that helps people stop thinking,” he stated the words causing her to freeze for a moment. Frowning at him she considered his words before realizing he was leaving the decision up to her. She was smart enough to realize what he was saying, and she was just hurt enough to actually consider the proposition instead of shoving him away. Opening her mouth to refuse she paused. Was it really even worth telling him no? She didn’t have anyone else that even knew her anymore. Without Wells, he was the only one that knew her real personality. It wasn’t worth telling him no. 

Shaking off his hands, she could almost feel him shiver as she leaned up and kissed him. It wasn’t the same way she kissed her guards or how she’d ever really believed kissing him could be. It was rough and feral as he took control with enough force to make her head spin. Her toys were always carefully treating her like a doll made of glass, but his touch felt like fire. Burning and bruising all at once as she allowed him to tug her toward the bed. 

(Roan) 

Stalking through the trees, he made sure to keep his eyes on both the branches above and the shadows. He knew far more than anyone how dangerous Trikru was; Heda was Trikru after all. His grudge with Trikru wasn’t personal despite what had been done to him, he just knew they would kill him if he was caught here much less if he was caught helping the kids. This wasn’t the first time he’d decided to side with the losing side and that hadn’t ended well for him. To make things worse this time he’d picked the side of literal children. 

He'd been watching them for days now and nothing was more apparent than the fact that these kids had no idea how to survive nor would they be able to do so alone down here. This new clan was filled with kids with no combat training, but they had potential. Well, Clarke and Murphy had potential. He saw the same kind of charisma in Clarke that Heda had although the girl had no desire to lead. That was what made him decide to join them; he wanted to know what they would become. If for no other reason than because he was lonely. 

Clarke herself was a very closed off girl; he’d noticed that the moment she’d walked into the cave with guarded green eyes. Heda had green eyes too but they were different, darker. Clarke’s eyes reminded him of something bright while Heda’s were dark. Both their eyes had the same silent confidence however, Clarke’s was much more subdued. He did wonder what kind of Heda she could become but to do that she would have to defeat the current Heda and that was impossible for her. Right now, it was impossible. 

Even if she did get stronger, Ontari was still a factor and the dark-haired woman would never allow the throne she coveted to be torn away from her. It was a good thing that Clarke was no threat to her hopes of becoming Heda, without Nightblood the girl would never be a threat to Ontari. His sister was much stronger than anyone gave her credit for; she had to be to survive having their mother's attention, not that the woman saw Ontari as anything but a tool. That was why he’d latched onto the girl and helped her survive the hell that was having his mother's attention. Now he had to find another of his mother's tools and his second sister. The rate at which his mother turned her children, blood or otherwise, into tools was sickening. 

Murphy was different, volatile, in a way that compared to a large cat; dangerous and skittish all at once. He would only attack once he knew he could win, and he would always find a way to survive even if everyone hated him. The boy also had a sense of loyalty and honor as shown when he stated that the others of the clan would follow Clarke over Bellamy, who Roan hadn’t met yet. From the way he looked at her it was obvious that Murphy would rather cut off his own hand than hurt her, however, the boy had also snapped back at her when she lashed out at him. 

The boy had also stayed calm when she was threatened making him better than most of the guards his mother employed. To make things better the boy had still looked at him like he was a threat despite Clarke accepting him into the clan. It was almost impressive, but he wasn’t about to start praising the other male until he saw the boy fight. Strength was everything in Azgada; from mental to physical the only thing that mattered was the ability to survive. He wanted to see if these kids would be able to survive. 

Neither Clarke nor Murphy had trusted him despite what they’d shown back in the cave by sleeping around him. It was also true that Clarke had no desire to lead her... their people, she only did so because he was forcing her hand. The fact neither trusted him was a relief, it meant they weren't naïve enough to let themselves be tricked into trust. Murphy was too cynical; he’d realized that when the boy questioned him about his banishment, while Clarke was too guarded. It was a fact he could help them survive down here and that was the only reason they’d agreed to his terms, well that and the knife. 

He wasn’t going to fail them. 

Azgada had abandoned him on the orders of Lexa Kom Trikru Heda of the twelve clans without so much as hesitating for a moment. Due to Heda’s orders he couldn’t join any other clan that was part of the Coalition, Skaikru was not part of the Coalition, they were as far from being a part of the alliance as one could get right now. Being unknown to the clans they would be deemed a threat and killed unless they learned how to survive. He wouldn’t allow the only people capable of ending his loneliness to die without at least trying to keep them safe. 

First, he would start by training them, although he would be a lot less brutal than his own teachers. Clarke’s frame meant she would be better with daggers while Murphy could learn how to use a sword. Teaching them how to fight like Azgada warriors might be difficult but he also knew some other fighting techniques that he’d observed during his banishment. Actually, either of his sister's fighting styles would suit Clarke. Ontari’s quick and wild movements would work well with her small frame while Echo’s archery might keep her alive. Of course, all this depended on if they had proper weapons or not. If they didn’t then he would have to start weapon production first. 

Echo was the best spy Azgada had ever seen; she was stoic and cold with hard eyes that could cut through stone. She also reacted by dropping her bow the instant she saw him come into view. The shocked expression on her face along with the fact she was dressed like a Trikru warrior didn’t stop him from chuckling as she tried to change her shock to something more fitting of a spy. Then she gave up and glanced around to make sure that no one was watching; after all, she couldn’t show her emotions if there were other people around. Finding nothing, she moved to look him over for any injuries only to stiffen when he drew her into a hug that she wasn’t expecting. He wasn’t the hugging type, but he was lonely. 

“Chit laik yu-” 

“Osir need kom talk echo.” 

He didn’t know what to say to convince her, but he did know that he wanted her beside him when he started teaching these kids how to survive. Starting from the beginning he told her about joining Skaikru and her reaction of wrinkling her nose caused him to chuckle. Diving into the chaotic abyss that was convincing Echo to do anything she didn’t want to do he hoped that the kids weren't doing anything stupid. 

(Clarke) 

She had no idea if this had been a mistake or not, but at least it kept her from thinking about how horrible this situation was if only for a few moments. Wells was dead, and she was alone; no one really knew her except for him and without him, she would be alone. Sitting on the edge of the bed she considered her options. Killing that little girl was the one thing that was completely off the table, but it was also the one thing that would make her feel even a little bit better. If Kuro was here the girl would already be dead. 

What would her mentor do in this situation, would he kill Charlotte, or would he try to find a different way? No... she knew exactly what he would do. Glancing back at Murphy a small smile tugged at her lips as she watched him assemble and disassemble Bellamy’s gun with childlike fascination. It was time to stop thinking and start acting. They would get nowhere by avoiding the issues. Still, she would have rather waited until Roan returned to make any big moves. Now there was no time to wait at all, instead, they had to move forward. She had to move forward. 

“Feel better,” he asked as she stood. Glancing over at the blonde he resisted looking down at her nails. He was pretty sure she’d left claw marks on his back. 

“Yeah,” she said before sending him a small nod saying, “thanks by the way.” 

“Sure, it was fun.” 

The amused pride on his face was enough to bring a genuine smile to her lips before she sighed. They had far too much to do and too little time. She wanted the situation resolved before Roan returned so that he knew she could solve her own issues, however, having his advice might help her too. 

“We need to figure out what we’re going to do with Charlotte and Bellamy,” she said taking his attention fully away from the gun. Sharp eyes met her own and for a moment she thought he would argue then he nodded. 

“Can’t kill them.” 

It was nice how he could outline her current problem then offer no solutions. 

“Will you take Charlotte,” she asked. Maybe getting the girl away from Bellamy could help and Murphy was the only one she trusted to take care of the girl. Well other than Fox but the other girl wasn’t loyal to her yet. The only reason Fox helped her today was due to Wells. God, she still had to deal with Wells. 

“What?” 

“Right now, you’re the only person I trust,” she stated despite not wanting to admit that fact. The look of shock on his face at her request changed to a cold expression at her admission. They both knew that trust was for fools, but she honestly trusted him. 

“That might be a mistake,” he warned only to get a raised eyebrow in return. Groaning he ran a hand through his hair before nodding slowly. Picking up Bellamy’s gun he said, “Fine I’ll take the little brat on the condition that you stop pretending to be a good person. We don’t need the princess of the Ark as our leader we need the Black King’s student.” 

“Gather everyone in camp, I’ll check and see if Roan has returned.” 

Nodding he turned toward the exit of the tent. Roan wasn’t one of them, but Clarke had accepted him, that was all they needed to know right now. The bigger issue was deciding how to break it to the others that Clarke was Sky. He just hoped that it didn’t end with bloodshed, which would make everyone uncomfortable. Still, this was turning out to be far more interesting than he’d thought it would be. Even taking in the kid could be interesting. 

“Are we going to trust him,” he asked throwing her a challenging glance. For a moment her vivid eyes narrowed then she smirked. The dark glint in her eyes was enough to bring a wild grin to his face, this was going to be fun. 

“Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. It's been a while. Anyway, I don't know how I feel about the last season of the show yet. At the moment the only goods thing I have to say is that Murphy looked good this season. I'll figure out my emotions later.   
> Anyway, the question of what happened to Kuro will be answered next chapter.   
> stay safe and have a good day   
> -Shyla


	5. Chapter 5

_She couldn’t move; her limbs were frozen in place as her mentor rushed around the room trying to destroy all the evidence of the group he led. Outside the locked door people were dying but none of them were smugglers. Nygel had betrayed them, the woman had no sense of loyalty or honor. Now they were all going to die or be sent to the Sky Box to die later. She didn’t want to live her life locked in a cage waiting to die; it wasn’t fair. In that moment she hated the council, not even Kuro’s hand on her shoulder could keep the despair from sinking into her bones._

_Her heart shattered when her mentor moved aside his bookcase to show the small vent shaft behind it. That wasn’t big enough for all of them but only her. He'd hidden that exit for years only to reveal it now. He was going to send her away; she was going to live while he died. For only an instant she hated how relieved that made her feel then she shoved the feeling so deep down that it vanished completely. She wasn’t going to leave him._

_“I’m not leaving,” she snapped as he worked on unscrewing the bolts from the wall._

_“You are,” he stated without hesitation._

_“I refuse! I won’t leave you to die here. It's not right.”_

_They both knew that right and wrong were made by the one telling the story. In his eyes this was the only right course of action. He'd done everything to make sure this very moment wouldn’t happen and now that it was here, he knew that she was the only one able to run away. He was going to die, Kuro would die with him. That was the only things neither of them could change, even if they got away it was only a matter of time until the Ark caught them. Tugging the vent cover from the wall, he stood before moving to face her. Her eyes were filled with tears as she gazed up at him._

_“Clarke, there is nothing more important to me in this world than you. I need you to be alive so this old man can die without fear,” he stated. The truth of those word almost made it hard to think of anything as Kuro stiffened. The boy knew they were both going to die and held no fear of death. This was the moment they were preparing for and neither of them would look away. Offering the boy, a rare smile he shrugged saying, “besides there’s something I've been meaning to say to those fools on the council.”_

_“That’s not funny,” she hissed causing him to chuckle. Despite the fact he was about to die he couldn’t keep the grin from his face. Reaching out he pulled her into a hug that made her body shake.”_

_“Live and get revenge, don’t die fighting a losing battle,” he ordered. It was the last time he would give her such an order. From here on she would have to live for herself and no one else. Pulling away he glanced at her partner and nodded. “Kuro.”_

_“Understood.”_

_Feeling the older teens hand close around her arm she glared up at him silently ordering him to let her go. The way he shook his head infuriated her enough to kick out at him. All the fear she felt changed to rage as he began to pull her toward the vent._

_“Stop!”_

_He ignored her. The boy who’d never ignored her refused to even look at her and she wasn’t strong enough to make him let go. This wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. She didn’t want to leave them behind, not like this. Twisting to look at her mentor her broken heart cracked at the small sad smile on his face. The guarded gaze he always held was gone replaced by cloudy eyes on the verge of tears; the council deserved to burn. On the edge of begging for this all to be a nightmare harsh tears stung her eyes without mercy._

_The strength in Kuro’s arms was gone as he pulled her into a hug that she hated. Clinging to him she bit back a sob; she wasn’t going to cry. His hand drifted through her hair as he sucked in a deep breath that trembled along with his hands. It was hard to admit but he didn’t want to die._

_“May we meet again little sister,” he whispered just loud enough she could hear him. It was enough to force a sob from her lips._

_“Don’t you dare,” she snapped through her tears as his hand wondered to her neck. The fact she didn’t try to stop him meant the words weren’t genuine._

_“Never forget we love you,” he ordered before pressing down on her neck._

_The way she crumbled in his arms made the situation a million times worse, but he still moved to slide her into the vent. She looked tiny as she laid there with tears staining her face; it was enough to make him hate this world. Replacing the vent cover he bolted it to the wall with practiced movements. She was going to hate him when she woke up alone in a vent. The idea brought a smile to his face as he moved the bookcase back into position. Both of them had ensured that there was no trace of her anywhere in this room. No one would be able to tell she’d ever been a part of their lives and who would believe the Ark’s Princess was a criminal?_

_“Sorry about this.”_

_Looking over at the Black King he smiled. If he’d still been under Nigels care he wouldn’t be in this situation, but he also would’ve never met Clarke. It was worth dying today. Rolling his shoulders, he smirked. He wasn’t going to get caught and sent out into space like garbage. He was going to die fighting just like he lived._

_“I’m going to go wild,” he stated meeting the man’s gaze._

_“I know,” he said as the door shook. It was time for them both to make their peace. Offering the younger man his hand he said, “thank you for taking care of her all this time.”_

_There were no goodbyes. No regrets between them that needed to be voiced and when the guards broke down the door, they saw only the Black King sitting on his desk chair as if it was a throne. Then Kuro painted the floor with their blood. It took fourteen guards to subdue and kill the teen who fought like a demon._

**Present day**

Wells didn’t deserve to die. It was a truth that she could accept but accepting it didn‘t make his death hurt any less. Watching his body burn to ashes, she felt nothing but pain that wouldn’t go away. Roan hadn’t been at his cave, she’d left him a note, and no one confronted her when she returned to camp. Even now sitting on a log she refused to turn her eyes from his burning body. If she’d buried him than he would be a prisoner of the earth until he rotted away, this way he was free. Not even the way Murphy rested his hand on her shoulder helped her at all. She knew that the others were waiting for her to speak but she didn’t want to. She had no desire to pretend to be their perfect blonde Princess. 

She hadn’t wanted to lose him, but he was gone. Life was cruel, she had no doubt that the coming days would be just a horrible as this moment. She'd already lost so much that she felt as if it would never end. The pain would fade just like it always did, she had to believe that, or she would drown. Sighing, she turned her gaze from the flickering flames to the teens surrounding her. She wanted to fall apart and hide until her chest stopped hurting but that wasn’t an option. Meeting Fox’s eyes she found a bitter glow in her eyes that looked out of place. 

Her mentor would have hated this situation too, but he would’ve never run from it so she wouldn’t either. It was time to stop pretending there was no other option. Standing slowly, she shifted on her feet before glancing at the dropship, it would be better for Bellamy to be out here when she did this. Part of her would prefer Roan be here too but that apparently wasn’t going to happen. She had no doubt the other survivors were watching them from the trees as well but there was nothing she could do about that. A bitter sort of vindictiveness hoped they would have a good show. 

“Fox can you and your group go get Bellamy and his accomplices,” she asked causing the other girl to smirk. Nodding viciously the other girl led her team into the dropship. 

Taking a moment to breathe deeply Clarke ran her eyes over the assembled teens and noticed the man standing just inside the gate. Roan was here and he’d brough company apparently. For a moment she felt relief then she shoved it down. This situation wasn’t one that he could help her with. She had to do this on her own or none of the other criminals would listen to her no matter what she said. Seeing his gaze flicker to the pyre she let a sad smile show on her face. Turning away from him she noticed that Murphy had followed her gaze. 

The expression on his face was guarded but he didn’t hesitate to tighten his grip on her shoulder before dropping his hand. The thud of Bellamy being shoved down the ramp gained all their attention; with his bound hands there was no way for him to break his fall. Fox seemed almost pleased as she calmly stalked down after him. It was nice to see that someone in this camp was having a good time. At least the older male was smart enough not to beg for his freedom instead he glared at her choosing to send all his anger in her direction. She really didn’t appreciate the action. 

Watching Fox move Bellamy and his group to stand in front of her, Clarke refused to look at Charlotte who seemed ready to cry. Octavia was simply standing with a clear gaze although she did seem concerned for her brother. Personally, Clarke had nothing against the dark-haired girl, it was likely she would simply end up letting her go rather than deal out any punishment. Millar and his two idiots were going to be harder to deal with, but they had no idea what Charlotte had done and simply followed Bellamy’s orders. 

The real issue was Bellamy who knew exactly what Charlotte had done and chosen to protect her anyway. She could understand his reasoning, Charlotte was a child; that had been enough of a reason for him to protect her. Yet this child had killed Wells who was both the son of the Chancellor and her best friend. There had to be some punishment for that. Murder was not a slap on the wrist crime, she refused to allow it to be one. They had to have rules in order to survive; she had to be the one to make those rules. 

“Over seventy of you know the title Black King, step forward if you do,” she ordered sharply. Watching Fox stalk forward first she wondered if the girl knew where this was going, she really hoped so. The fact Monty held his head high when he left his confused best friend made her feel a bit of pride at his action. Watching them all file forward with varying degrees of confidence she smiled softly. These were the survivors of that raid; they all knew her mentor’s name. It made her feel warm and fuzzy; that feeling was killed by the current situation within seconds. Gazing at them she ignored the confused sound that Bellamy made in favor of saying, “My name was Sky, I was his apprentice.” 

The uproar was instant. She could see their disbelief as they processed her words. Some of them called her a liar, while others snapped that it was impossible. The only people to simply tilt their heads in consideration were the dangerous ones. Fox was smirking with an amused confidence that was terrifying. The other girl was just standing unaffected by the chaos as she watched the situation unfold; she had no idea what the girl was going to do next. That was the worst part of having an Assassin hiding in plain sight. Watching Fox shift to the front of the crowd, Clarke sighed. 

“Prove it,” Fox ordered causing everyone to fall silent. The dark amusement swimming in her eyes was frightening but not unexpected. The other girl was more than prepared to challenge her, but by calling her out she also gave Clarke a chance to prove her words. Flicking her wrist, the assassin caught the knife that fell from her sleeve and held it threateningly in the blonde's direction saying, “Kuro was your partner, I'm sure he taught you something.” 

That was true, but she was almost no match for the other girl. There was no way she could win against Fox just from the skill she’d seen from the other girl, however, to refuse would be an admission of lying. It would shame both her mentor and Kuro. The way Murphy grit his teeth behind her showed he knew the truth as well; she had no choice. Shrugging off her jacket, she reached down to pull her gun from her boot before handing them both to Murphy. The unamused glint in his gaze showed that he was annoyed but he did nothing to stop her. 

The fact she pulled a knife from her boot did nothing to intimidate the other girl who chuckled at her actions. This wasn’t a fight it was a test. She had to prove herself to Fox who currently led the others, or none would follow her. She wasn’t afraid but she also knew Fox wasn’t going to go easy on her. The other girl had likely already made her choice, and this was simply a formality but either way there was no doubt Clarke was going to be bleeding by the time Fox got done. It was slightly intimidating to think about, but she wasn’t going to back down. 

“You should’ve shot me,” the girl stated amusement dripping from her words. She was most likely right, but she could already feel the gazes of the others on her judging her every move. 

“Yeah, but what would that prove,” she asked without expecting an answer. She'd never been one to enter the fighting rings, so they had no idea how skilled she was, besides solving this with a gun didn’t feel right. 

“That you’re smart enough not to fight an assassin with only a knife.” 

Good point. Sidestepping as the assassin lunged, she twisted aiming her blade at the other girl’s wrist. It did nothing as the other girl simply grabbed her shoulder before flipping into the air. The easy movement was enough to gain a gasp from the other teens. Landing easily Fox smiled although the expression was anything but friendly. She knew that Clarke was Sky, it was easy for her to remember the tiny blonde who followed around the Black King. It was likely that others knew the truth just like her but Clarke still hadn’t earned their support. The only person she had was Murphy, who didn’t hold enough sway to make this test stop. 

She'd loved Kuro and had fought him many times although never in the ring. It was easy to see his movements in the blondes fighting style even as she left tiny cuts on the girl’s skin. She knew the blonde had taken off her jacket to avoid having it destroyed; the thought was amusing. Glancing around as she kicked Clarke in the back, she noticed some of the others recognizing the fighting style although they didn’t step forward to stop her. Flickering her gaze back to the blonde, she met those blazing green eyes and repressed a grin. 

Her mentor was dead. He had given everything to his students and wend out with a blade in his hand. They all remembered following his order to stand down when the guards broke down the door; she remembered watching him dye. His orders had been absolute, but he’d never been cruel neither had the Black King. Clarke was trying to fill the footsteps of a man that lived his life without hesitation or regret. He had led them all and controlled the Ark from the shadows. Without him they were lost, but never broken. She wanted to see this girl prove to be his student. 

Murphy hesitated before slipping away to greet Roan. He knew what Fox was trying to do and it was working but he didn’t want to watch. Offering the man, a nod he held Clarke’s things tightly as the man sent him a questioning glance. It was hard to explain how he felt as he told Roan everything that had happened since they parted ways but the closest, he could get was agony. Clarke was fighting while he could do nothing. Watching Roan nod as he finished, he didn’t even glance at the woman standing beside the man instead he turned his attention back to Clarke. 

The cuts that lined her arms were designed to cause stinging pain but not truly wound her; they were annoying but not life threatening. Grabbing Fox’s blade before she could pull away, the blonde didn’t hesitate to press her own blade against the Assassin’s neck. If Fox wanted, she could rip the knife from her grip, but the girl simply chuckled. Releasing her blade, she stepped back before nodding. The small action was enough for Monty who collapsed as his knees gave out. Sliding her knife back into her boot, Clarke sighed in relief. At least now it was over. 

“I acknowledge Clarke as Kuro’s partner and the Black King’s successor,” Fox said clearly. Glancing around she ignored the gaping from Bellamy’s group and the man Murphy was standing beside. Right now, they didn’t matter. Dropping to her knees she didn’t hesitate to lay a hand over her heart saying, “from this day on I give you my loyalty.” 

Eye twitching Clarke resisted the urge to snap at the other girl as the other criminals, even those who were still confused, followed suit. This was far to dramatic and she hated it; Fox was most likely only doing this to mess with her. From the smirk on her face she knew that she was right. It didn’t help that Murphy was grinning or that her arms were starting to hurt. 

“If you don’t stand within the next five seconds, I'll let Bellamy lead again,” she threatened. The insulted noise made by the man turned to shock as almost everyone stood up instantly. Well that was a blow to his ego; glancing at him to make sure he was still alive she found a dazed expression on his face. She hadn’t meant for that to be such a big blow for him although she was slightly amused. Shifting she said, “I know all of you disliked Wells. I’m not going to argue that he was perfect, but he also didn’t deserve to die or for Murphy to be framed for his murder.” 

That set them off whispering again. It was like they had the attention span of five-year-old's; honestly in any other situation she would’ve been slightly amused by their actions. Right now, it was mostly annoying; glancing at Wells’s pyre she wanted to fall to her knees and beg him to come back to life, instead she sighed. There was no time to dwell on the fact her best friend was dead. Sending a pleading glance at Murphy she felt a little better when he moved to stand behind Bellamy’s group of idiots. 

All she had to do was get through this little sentencing then she could take a break, for at least a few minutes. It wasn’t as if they would self-destruct in the time it took her to take a quick nap. At least she hoped so; who was she kidding of course they would self-destruct. Refusing to show weakness she decided to simply get this over with. 

“If Charlotte killed Wells on the Ark that would be punishable by being locked away in the Sky Box. We are no longer on the Ark; their laws no longer matter especially after they tossed us away like trash. We have to make our own laws and choices, so I won’t order her death.” 

Bellamy who had been having a silent meltdown let out a sigh of relief that she tried to ignore however the urge to hit him remained. She'd had a plan to use Wells against his father and the council when the Ark came down; they were far too stubborn to lay down and die. That plan was now void meaning she might have to kill the entire council if they tried to lay a hand on her people. Not that she minded killing them all seeing as how they locked her people in cages; anyone who did that needed to be killed in the most horrific way possible. 

“From this point on, Charlotte will be Murphy’s responsibility. Octavia will be Fox’s along with Miller’s group, I’ll be taking Bellamy,” she stated. Glancing over at Roan she sighed mentally begging him to forgive her for what she was about to do. “Now, I would like to introduce Roan and his companion who are joining us.” 

The fact almost all the teens froze in complete fear before following her movement to the two survivors would’ve been hilarious if not for the fact, she was already developing a headache. Honestly, she would rather be on the pyre instead of Wells. Taking a calming breath, she clapped her hands before any of her idiots could start freaking out; she knew they would if given enough time to think. 

“Now, I need Roan, his companion, Fox, Murphy, and Monty to join me in the dropship,” she ordered before turning on her heel and stalking into the dropship. 

(Abby) 

Her hands were shaking as she stared down at the tablet as if it held all the answers in the world. It was fear that kept her from clicking on the video that was labeled with her name; she knew it was from her daughter. Despite the way she tried to fool herself into thinking that her daughter was an innocent angel she knew that Clarke hated her. The dark glint that appeared in daughter’s green eyes when they saw each other was enough to send chills down her spine. Clarke had always known the truth about what happened to her father. 

That fact was terrifying. She wasn’t foolish enough to hope that Clarke would simply forgive her for everything and that they would be a family again. No, her daughter was too much like her to even consider a world where she didn’t get revenge. That was why she’d stared at the video for the last hour rather than clicking on it. She knew that this would break her, it was the only thing that her daughter could do after her betrayal. There was no video for the Ark or anything else available on the tablet, just a single video that looked far to innocent. 

If she watched this, then it would tell her exactly what she didn’t want to hear. 

If she looked away and buried her head in the sand, then she couldn’t call herself Clarke’s mother. 

Reaching out a trembling finger she clicked the play button hoping that maybe she was wrong about her daughter. From the cold frigid eyes that stared back at her as the video started, she knew that she was right. 

**“I’ve thought about this moment for years, it feels nice to know you’re still the predictable woman that I hate from the bottom of my heart.”**

**That was her daughter. She knew without a doubt that this was the truth of how her little girl felt. Considering how easily they’d broken apart from each other, she wondered if Clarke had ever seen her as her mother.**

**“Right now, I’m on the ground all because the council needed more time to choose who to kill. Sometimes I hate being right but this time it feels really good. Do you understand how much I hate you? Not just for floating my father or abandoning me, or for trying to make me a clone of you. All of those are just the tip of the iceberg of how much I hate you. But that’s not what this video is for.”**

Heart aching, she clenched her shirt tightly hoping that this was all a dream and knowing that it wasn’t. 

**“Goodbye Abby Griffin, if I ever see you again, I’ll kill you.”**

The dark certainty in those words were what broke her. Closing her eyes, she didn’t even try to hide the sob that tore through her body as the video deleted itself. Her daughter hated her enough to kill her. Hugging her knees to her chest she didn’t notice Kane entering her room until his hands were on her shoulders trying to shake her from her distress. 

(Clarke) 

Watching Roan closely as he introduced Echo, she kept all emotion from her face; it helped that Murphy was resting a subtle hand on her shoulder. He was the only person that she trusted right now. She had no idea what she was supposed to do right now; the only thing she could do was keep moving forward and hope that she was making the right choices. 

“Nice to meet you Echo,” she says despite not wanting to say anything at all. Letting a fake smile form on her face she said, “Everyone in this room is my council. First things first, Roan what are our chances of surviving.” 

“Not good.” 

The honesty in that statement caused Murphy to scoff while Fox smiled using the smile that made her teeth look sharp. 

“We need food, water, shelter, a better wall, weapons, training to use the weapons, and that’s not even considering what the other clans are thinking.” 

“Clans,” Monty asked nervously. Clutching his shirt, he shifted away when Roan turned to face him. 

“There are twelve clans all under the control of our Heda... our commander. We’re from Azgada the territory we’re in now is Trikru; our clans are kept from fighting by Heda but if she ever dies it’ll be war.” 

He kept his eyes on Clarke as he spoke. The fear that flashed through her gaze when she realized how outnumbered they were made him stiffen but she pushed it back just as quickly. She wasn’t allowing her fear to cloud her judgment, that was a good trait for a leader to have. The fact she hadn’t killed the girl that killed the boy was something that could be considered weakness, but he didn’t believe that it was. Her council was also strange. Monty was a flight risk or at least until he was until his eyes settled on Clarke; then he was bold enough to meet Roan’s eyes without flinching. Fox was still grinning despite the fact she’d just learned they were outnumbered twelve to one. Her eyes flickered to Clarke letting him see the loyalty there that honestly impressed him. Most people wouldn’t be able to see it, but he knew what that expression meant. 

Murphy was an enigma. During the trial earlier he’d been full of amusement that he didn’t truly feel and now he was letting the dark frown show. He cared for Clarke it was easy to see but he had no idea why. He didn’t know where the boy’s loyalty came from nor did he want to know. The fact he simply kept a hand on her shoulder in support rather than arguing with her was enough to prove that he was on her side. 

“Right now we need to focus on our clan,” Clarke stated drawing his attention completely. She was tense reminding him of a warrior preparing to fight. There wasn’t even the slightest chance she would give up or walk away from the challenges she would face. Sending him a small nod she said, “Monty I want you to work on water and food. Fox can work on security while Roan and Echo work on weapons and training. I need to start teaching others about medicine.” 

“What about shelter, the tents won’t last for the winter,” Echo asked. It was the first thing she’d said during the entire meeting and he knew that she was still processing what she’d agreed to by joining this clan. 

“Should we be here for the winter,” Clarke asked turning all her attention to him. The fact she was asking for his advice so much was the only thing that kept Echo from snapping at the girl. He could see the expressions of distrust flickering across the spies face. Tilting her head, she asked, “you’ve said yourself that Trikru won’t take kindly to you being here and right now we’re invaders in their land. Shouldn’t we move somewhere else?” 

“No, if we try and move Trikru will attack to contain us. The best option is to try and have a meeting with Heda but that won’t happen until we’ve been observed for a while and deemed nonhostile.” 

Nodding she frowned before turning her gaze to Murphy for just a second then she relaxed at the smirk he sent her. Well if they were going to make this place their home, then she couldn’t afford to take any half measures. Allowing the dark smile to cross her face, she knew that this fight was only starting. 

“Can I rely on you to deal with the shelter issue then,” she asked with a sharp tone that caused Roan to straighten. 

“We’ll deal with it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, this is my first story outside of anime. I think I first wrote this story under a different title a few years ago then took it down because I didn't have time to work on it. Now however I have a clear vision for the story and the entire first arc outlined and ready to be written. As you can see I played around with the background of some characters and changed their personalities a little (or a lot depending on some). What do you guys think of the chapter? Chapter 2 is almost done and I'll be posting it soon.


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